GIFT  Of 

J&ancrcxt 


FAIR 


BY 


FRANCES  HODGSON  BURNETT 

Author  of  "That  Lass  o'  Lowrie's,"  "Haworth's"  "Louisiana"  etc. 


BOSTON 
JAMES    R.  OSGOOD   AND    COMPANY 

1881 


• .  •  •  •  •  I  *•'. 
•  •.•••..*.•.• 


COPYRIGHT,  1880, 
BY  FRANCES  HODGSON  BURNETT. 

All  rights  reserved. 

SJFTOF 

Bancroft 

LIBHARY 


Stereotyped  and  Printed  by  Rand,  Avery,  &-  Co., 
Boston. 


F3 

1881 

MAIN 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

I.  Miss  OCTAVIA  BASSETT  . 

II.  "  AN  INVESTMENT,  ANYWAY  " 

III.  L'ARGENTVILLE 

IV.  LADY  THEOBALD 

V.    LUCIA 

VI.    ACCIDENTAL 

VII.  "  I  SHOULD  LIKE  TO  SEE  MORE  OF  SLOW- 
BRIDGE  " 

VIII.  SHARES  LOOKING  UP      . 

IX.    WHITE  MUSLIN 

X.  ANNOUNCING  MR.  BAROLD     . 

XL  A  SLIGHT  INDISCRETION 

XII.    AN  INVITATION 

XIII.  INTENTIONS 

XIV.  A  CLERICAL  VISIT 

XV.  SUPERIOR  ADVANTAGES  . 

XVI.     CROQUET 

XVII.  ADVANTAGES     . 

XVIII.    CONTRAST 

XIX.    AN  EXPERIMENT 


PAGE 

5 

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24 
31 
42 
51 

61 

69 

82 

90 

101 

109 

118 

128 

134 

143 

152 

166 

172 


861G 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

XX. 

"V  V  I 

PECULIAR  TO  NEVADA    . 

PAGE 

.     183 

.     197 

XXII. 

WITT 

"YOU  HAVE   MADE   IT   LIVELIER" 
"  M\Y   I   GO  ?" 

.     207 
.     221 

XXIV. 
XXV. 
XXVI. 

THE  GARDEN  PARTY 
"  SOMEBODY  ELSE  ". 
"JACK" 

.     230 
.     241 
,     251 

A  FATE  BARBARIAN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MISS   OCTAVIA  BASSETT. 

SLOWBEIDGE  had  been  shaken  to  its  foun 
dations. 

It  may  as  well  be  explained,  however,  at 
the  outset,  that  it  would  not  take  much  of  a 
sensation  to  give  Slowbridge  a  great  shock. 
In  the  first  place,  Slowbridge  was  not  used 
to  sensations,  and  was  used  to  going  on  the 
even  and  respectable  tenor  of  its  way,  re 
garding  the  outside  world  with  private  dis 
trust,  if  not  with  open  disfavor.  The  new 
mills  had  been  a  trial  to  Slowbridge,  —  a  sore 
trial.  On  being  told  of  the  owners'  plan  of 
building  them,  old  Lady  Theobald,  who  was 
the  corner-stone  of  the  social  edifice  of  Slow- 
bridge,  was  said,  by  a  spectator,  to  have 


6''  A    F'AH!   V'ABBARIAN. 

turned  deathly  pale  with  rage ;  and,  on  the 
first  day  of  their  being  opened  in  working 
order,  she  had  taken  to  her  bed,  and  re 
mained  shnt  up  in  her  darkened  room  for  a 
week,  refusing  to  see  anybody,  and  even 
going  so  far  as  to  send  a  scathing  message 
to  the  curate  of  St.  James,  who  called  in  fear 
and  trembling,  because  he  was  afraid  to  stay 
away. 

"  With  mills  and  mill-hands,"  her  ladyship 
announced  to  Mr.  Laurence,  the  mill-owner, 
when  chance  first  threw  them  together, 
"with  mills  and  mill-hands  come  murder, 
massacre,  and  mob  law."  And  she  said  it 
so  loud,  and  with  so  stern  an  air  of  convic 
tion,  that  the  two  Misses  Briarton,  wrho  were 
of  a  timorous  and  fearful  nature,  dropped 
their  buttered  muffins  (it  was  at  one  of  the 
tea-parties  which  were  Slowbridge's  only  dis 
sipation),  and  shuddered  hysterically,  feeling 
that  their  fate  was  sealed,  and  that  they 
might,  any  night,  find  three  masculine  mill- 
hands  secreted  under  their  beds,  with  blud 
geons.  But  as  no  massacres  took  place,  and 
the  mill-hands  were  pretty  regular  in  their 
habits,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  send  their 


MISS  OCTAVIA  B AS SETT.  1 

children  to  Lady  Theobald's  free  school,  and 
accepted  the  tracts  left  weekly  at  their  doors, 
whether  they  could  read  or  not,  Slowbridge 
gradually  recovered  from  the  shock  of  find 
ing  itself  forced  to  exist  in  close  proximity 
to  mills,  and  was  just  settling  itself  to  sleep 
—  the  sleep  of  the  just  —  again,  when,  as  I 
have  said,  it  was  shaken  to  its  foundations. 

It  was  Miss  Belinda  Bassett  who  received 
the  first  shock.  Miss  Belinda  Bassett  was  a 
decorous  little  maiden  lady,  who  lived  in  a 
decorous  little  house  on  High  Street  (which 
was  considered  a  very  genteel  street  in  Slow- 
bridge).  She  had  lived  in  the  same  house 
all  her  life,  her  father  had  lived  in  it,  and  so 
also  had  her  grandfather.  She  had  gone  out, 
to  take  tea,  from  its  doors  two  or  three  times 
a  week,  ever  since  she  had  been  twenty ;  and 
she  had  had  her  little  tea-parties  in  its  front 
parlor  as  often  as  any  other  genteel  Slow- 
bridge  entertainer.  She  had  risen  at  seven, 
breakfasted  at  eight,  dined  at  two,  taken  tea 
at  five,  and  gone  to  bed  at  ten,  with  such 
regularity  for  fifty  years,  that  to  rise  at  eight, 
breakfast  at  nine,  dine  at  three,  and  take  tea 
at  six,  and  go  to  bed  at  eleven,  would,  she 


8  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

was  firmly  convinced,  be  but  "to  fly  in  the 
face  of  Providence,"  as  she  put  it,  and  sign 
her  own  death-warrant.  Consequently,  it  is 
easy  to  imagine  what  a  tremor  and  excite 
ment  seized  her  when,  one  afternoon,  as  she 
sat  waiting  for  her  tea,  a  coach  from  the  Blue 
Lion  dashed  —  or,  at  least,  almost  dashed — • 
up  to  the  front  door,  a  young  lady  got  out, 
and  the  next  minute  the  handmaiden,  Mary 
Anne,  threw  open  the  door  of  the  parlor, 
announcing,  without  the  least  preface,  — 
"  Your  niece,  mum,  from  'Meriker." 
Miss  Belinda  got  up,  feeling  that  her  knees 
really  trembled  beneath  her. 

In  Slowbridge,  America  was  not  approved 
of  —  in  fact,  was  almost  entirely  ignored,  as 
a  country  where,  to  quote  Lady  Theobald, 
"the  laws  were  loose,  and  the  prevailing 
sentiments  revolutionary."  It  was  not  con 
sidered  good  taste  to  know  Americans, — 
which  was  not  unfortunate,  as  there  were 
none  to  know ;  and  Miss  Belinda  Basse tt 
had  always  felt  a  delicacy  in  mentioning  her 
only  brother,  who  had  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  his  youth,  having  first  dis 
graced  himself  by  the  utterance  of  the  bias- 


MISS   OCTAVIA  B  AS  SETT.  9 

phemous  remark  that  "  he  wanted  to  get  to 
a  place  where  a  fellow  could  stretch  himself, 
and  not  be  bullied  by  a  lot  of  old  tabbies." 
From  the  day  of  his  departure,  when  he  had 
left  Miss  Belinda  bathed  in  tears  of  anguish, 
she  had  heard  nothing  of  him ;  and  here 
upon  the  threshold  stood  Mary  Anne,  with 
delighted  eagerness  in  her  countenance,  re 
peating,  — 

"  Your  niece,  mum,  from  'Meriker  !  " 

And,  with  the  words,  her  niece  entered. 

Miss  Belinda  put  her  hand  to  her  heart. 

The  young  lady  thus  announced  was  the 
prettiest,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  ex 
traordinary-looking,  young  lady  she  had  ever 
seen  in  her  life.  Slowbridge  contained  noth 
ing  approaching  this  niece.  Her  dress  was 
so  very  stylish  that  it  was  quite  startling  in 
its  effect ;  her  forehead  was  covered  down  to 
her  large,  pretty  eyes  themselves,  with  curls 
of  yellow-brown  hair ;  and  her  slender  throat 
was  swathed  round  and  round  with  a  grand 
scarf  of  black  lace. 

She  made  a  step  forward,  and  then  stopped, 
looking  at  Miss  Belinda.  Her  eyes  suddenly, 
to  Miss  Belinda's  amazement,  filled  with  tears. 


10  A   FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

"  Didn't  you,"  she  said,  —  "  oh,  dear  ! 
Didn't  you  get  the  letter  ?  " 

"  The  — the  letter  !  "  faltered  Miss  Belinda. 
"  What  letter,  my  —  my  dear  ?  " 

"Pa's,"  was  the  answer.  "Oh!  I  see  you 
didn't." 

And  she  sank  into  the  nearest  chair,  put 
ting  her  hands  up  to  her  face,  and  beginning 
to  cry  outright. 

"I  —  am  Octavia  B-bassett,"  she  said. 
"We  were  coming  to  surp-prise  you,  and 
travel  in  Europe  ;  but  the  mines  went  wrong, 
and  p-pa  was  obliged  to  go  back  to  Nevada." 

"  The  mines  ?  "  gasped  Miss  Belinda. 

" S-silver-mines,"  wept  Octavia.  "And 
we  had  scarcely  landed  when  Piper  cabled, 
and  pa  had  to  turn  back.  It  was  something 
about  shares,  and  he  may  have  lost  his  last 
dollar." 

Miss  Belinda  sank  into  a  chair  herself. 

"  Mary  Anne,"  she  said  faintly,  "  bring 
me  a  glass  of  water." 

Her  tone  was  such  that  Octavia  removed 
her  handkerchief  from  her  eyes,  and  sat  up 
to  examine  her. 

"Are  you  frightened?"  she  asked,  in 
some  alarm. 


MISS  OCTAVIA   BASSETT.  11 

Miss  Belinda  took  a  sip  of  the  water 
brought  by  her  handmaiden,  replaced  the 
glass  upon  the  salver,  and  shook  her  head 
deprecatingly. 

"  Not  exactly  frightened,  my  dear,"  she 
said,  "  but  so  amazed  that  I  find  it  difficult 
to  —  to  collect  myself." 

Octavia  put  up  her  handkerchief  again  to 
wipe  away  a  sudden  new  gush  of  tears. 

"  If  shares  intended  to  go  down,"  she  said, 
"  I  don't  see  why  they  couldn't  go  down 
before  we  started,  instead  of  waiting  until  we 
got  over  here,  and  then  spoiling  every  thing." 

"Providence,  my  dear" —  began  Miss 
Belinda. 

But  she  was  interrupted  by  the  re-entrance 
of  Mary  Anne. 

"  The  man  from  the  Lion,  mum,  wants  to 
know  what's  to  be  done  with  the  trunks. 
There's  six  of  'em,  an'  they're  all  that  'eavy 
as  he  says  he  wouldn't  lift  one  alone  for  ten 
shilling." 

"  Six  !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Belinda.  "  Whose 
are  they?" 

"Mine,"  replied  Octavia.  "Wait  a  min 
ute.  I'll  go  out  to  him." 


12  A    FAIR  BAEP.AE1AN. 

Miss  Belinda  was  astounded  afresh  by  the 
alacrity  with  which  her  niece  seemed  to  for 
get  her  troubles,  and  rise  to  the  occasion. 
The  girl  ran  to  the  front  door  as  if  she  was 
quite  used  to  directing  her  own  affairs,  and 
began  to  issue  her  orders. 

"  You  will  have  to  get  another  man,"  she 
said.  "You  might  have  known  that.  Go 
and  get  one  somewhere." 

And  when  the  man  went  off,  grumbling  a 
little,  and  evidently  rather  at  a  loss  before 
such  peremptory  coolness,  she  turned  to  Miss 
Belinda. 

"  Where  must  he  put  them  ?  she  asked. 

It  did  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  her 
once  that  her  identity  might  be  doubted,  and 
some  slight  obstacles  arise  before  her. 

"I  am  afraid,"  faltered  Miss  Belinda, 
"  that  five  of  them  will  have  to  be  put  in  the 
attic." 

And  in  fifteen  minutes  five  of  them  were 
put  into  the  attic,  and  the  sixth  —  the  big 
gest  of  all  —  stood  in  the  trim  little  spare 
chamber,  and  pretty  Miss  Octavia  had  sunk 
into  a  puffy  little  chintz-covered  easy-chair, 
while  her  newly  found  relative  stood  before 


MISS   OCTAVIA   BASSETT.  13 

her,  making  the  most  laudable  efforts  to  re 
cover  her  equilibrium,  and  not  to  feel  as  if 
her  head  were  spinning  round  and  round. 


14  A   FAIR   BARBARIAN. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"AN   INVESTMENT,    ANYWAY." 

THE  natural  result  of  these  efforts  was,  that 
Miss  Belinda  was  moved  to  shed  a  few  tears. 

"  I  hope  you  will  excuse  my  being  too  star 
tled  to  say  I  was  glad  to  see  you,"  she  said. 
"  I  have  not  seen  my  brother  for  thirty  years, 
and  I  was  very  fond  of  him." 

"He  said  you  were,"  answered  Octavia; 
"and  he  was  very  fond  of  you  too.  He 
didn't  write  to  you,  because  he  made  up  his 
mind  not  to  let  you  hear  from  him  until  he 
was  a  rich  man ;  and  then  he  thought  he 
would  wait  until  he  could  come  home,  and 
surprise  you.  He  was  awfully  disappointed 
when  he  had  to  go  back  without  seeing  you." 

"  Poor,  dear  Martin  !  "  wept  Miss  Belinda 
gently.  "  Such  a  journey  !  " 

Octavia  opened  her  charming  eyes  in  sur 
prise. 

"  Oh,  he'll  come  back  again  !  "     she  said. 


AN  INVESTMENT,   ANYWAY.          15 

"And  he  doesn't  mind  the  journey.  The 
journey  is  nothing,  you  know." 

"  Nothing  !  "  echoed  Miss  Belinda.  "  A 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic  nothing  ?  When 
one  thinks  of  the  danger,  my  dear  "  — 

Octavia's  eyes  opened  a  shade  wider. 

"  We  have  made  the  trip  to  the  States, 
across  the  Isthmus,  twelve  times,  and  that 
takes  a  month,"  she  remarked.  "  So  we 
don't  think  ten  days  much." 

"  Twelve  times  !  "  said  Miss  Belinda,  quite 
appalled.  "  Dear,  dear,  dear  !  " 

And  for  some  moments  she  could  do 
nothing  but  look  at  her  young  relative  in 
doubtful  wonder,  shaking  her  head  with  ac 
tual  sadness. 

But  she  finally  recovered  herself,  with  a 
little  start. 

u  What  am  I  thinking  of,"  she  exclaimed 
remorsefully,  "  to  let  you  sit  here  in  this 
way?  Pray  excuse  me,  my  dear.  You  see 
I  am  so  upset." 

She  left  her  chair  in  a  great  hurry,  and 
proceeded  to  embrace  her  young  guest  ten 
derly,  though  with  a  little  timorousness. 
The  young  lady  submitted  to  the  caress  with 
much  composure. 


16  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  Did  I  upset  you  ?  "  she  inquired  calmly. 

The  fact  was,  that  she  could  not  see  why 
the  simple  advent  of  a  relative  from  Nevada 
should  seem  to  have  the  effect  of  an  earth 
quake,  and  result  in  tremor,  confusion,  and 
tears.  It  was  true,  she  herself  had  shed  a 
tear  or  so,  but  then  her  troubles  had  been 
accumulating  for  several  days ;  and  she  had 
not  felt  confused  yet. 

When  Miss  Belinda  went  down-stairs  to 
superintend  Mary  Anne  in  the  tea-making, 
and  left  her  guest  alone,  that  young  person 
glanced  about  her  with  a  rather  dubious 
expression. 

44  It  is  a  queer,  nice  little  place,"  she  said. 
"  But  I  don't  wonder  that  pa  emigrated,  if 
they  always  get  into  such  a  flurry  about  little 
things.  I  might  have  been  a  ghost." 

Then  she  proceeded  to  unlock  the  big 
trunk,  and  attire  herself. 

Down-stairs,  Miss  Belinda  was  wavering 
between  the  kitchen  and  the  parlor,  in  a 
kindly  flutter. 

"  Toast  some  muffins,  Mary  Anne,  and 
bring  in  the  cold  roast  fowl,"  she  said.  "  And 
I  will  put  out  some  strawberry-jam,  and 


AN  INVESTMENT,   ANYWAY.  17 

some  of  the  preserved  ginger.  Dear  me  I 
Just  to  think  how  fond  of  preserved  ginger 
poor  Martin  was,  and  how  little  of  it  he  was 
allowed  to  eat !  There  really  seems  a  special 
Providence  in  my  having  such  a  nice  stock 
of  it  in  the  house  when  his  daughter  comes 
home." 

In  the  course  of  half  an  hour  every  thing 
was  nrreadiness;  and  then  Mary  Anne,  who 
had  been  sent  up-stairs  to  announce  the  fact, 
came  down  in  a  most  remarkable  state  of 
delighted  agitation,  suppressed  ecstasy  and 
amazement  exclaiming  aloud  in  every  fea 
ture. 

"  She's  dressed,  mum,"  she  announced, 
"  an'  '11  be  down  immediate,"  and  retired  to 
a  shadowy  corner  of  the  kitchen  passage, 
that  she  might  lie  in  wait  unobserved. 

Miss  Belinda,  sitting  behind  the  tea-ser 
vice,  heard  a  soft,  flowing,  silken  rustle 
sweeping  down  the  staircase,  and  across  the 
hall,  and  then  her  niece  entered. 

"Don't  you  think  I've  dressed  pretty 
quick?"  she  said,  and  swept  across  the  little 
parlor,  and  sat  down  in  her  place,  with  the 
calmest  and  most  unconscious  air  in  the 
world. 


18  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

There  was  in  Slowbridge  but  one  dress 
making  establishment.  The  head  of  the 
establishment  —  Miss  Letitia  Chickie  —  de 
signed  the  costumes  of  every  woman  in 
Slowbridge,  from  Lady  Theobald  down. 
There  were  legends  that  she  received  her 
patterns  from  London,  and  modified  them  to 
suit  the  Slowbridge  taste.  Possibly  this  was 
true ;  but  in  that  case  her  labors  as  modifier 
must  have  been  severe  indeed,  since  they 
were  so  far  modified  as  to  be  altogether  un 
recognizable  when  they  left  Miss  Chickie's 
establishment,  and  were  borne  home  in  tri 
umph  to  the  houses  of  her  patrons.  The 
taste  of  Slowbridge  was  quiet,  —  upon  this 
Slowbridge  prided  itself  especially,  —  and,  at 
the  same  time,  tended  toward  economy. 
When  gores  came  into  fashion,  Slowbridge 
clung  firmly,  and  with  some  pride,  to  sub 
stantial  breadths,  which  did  not  cut  good 
silk  into  useless  strips  which  could  not  be 
utilized  in  after-time ;  and  it  was  only  when, 
after  a  visit  to  London,  Lady  Theobald 
walked  into  St.  James's  one  Sunday  with 
two  gores  on  each  side,  that  Miss  Chickie 
regretfully  put  scissors  into  her  first  breadth. 


AN  INVESTMENT,   ANYWAY.          19 

Each  matronly  member  of  good  society  pos 
sessed  a  substantial  silk  gown  of  some  sober 
color,  which  gown,  having  done  duty  at  two 
years'  tea-parties,  descended  to  the  grade  of 
"second-best,"  and  so  descended,  year  by 
year,  until  it  disappeared  into  the  dim  dis 
tance  of  the  past.  The  young  ladies  had 
their  white  muslins  and  natural  flowers; 
which  latter  decorations  invariably  collapsed 
in  the  course  of  the  evening,  and  were  worn 
during  the  latter  half  of  any  festive  occasion 
in  a  flabby  and  hopeless  condition.  Miss 
Chickie  made  the  muslins,  festooning  and 
adorning  them  after  designs  emanating  from 
her  fertile  imagination.  If  they  were  a  little 
short  in  the  body,  and  not  very  generously 
proportioned  in  the  matter  of  train,  there 
was  no  rival  establishment  to  sneer,  and 
Miss  Chickie  had  it  all  her  own  way ;  and, 
at  least,  it  could  never  be  said  that  Slow- 
bridge  was  vulgar  or  overdressed. 

Judge,  then,  of  Miss  Belinda  Bassett's  con 
dition  of  mind  when  her  fair  relative  took  her 
seat  before  her. 

What  the  material  of  her  niece's  dress  was, 
Miss  Belinda  could  not  have  told.  It  was  a 


20  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

silken  and  soft  fabric  of  a  pale  blue  -color ;  it 
clung  to  the  slender,  lissome  young  figure 
like  a  glove ;  a  fan-like  train  of  great  length 
almost  covered  the  hearth-rug;  there  were 
plaitings  and  frillings  all  over  it,  and  yards 
of  delicate  satin  ribbon  cut  into  loops  in  the 
most  recklessly  extravagant  manner. 

Miss  Belinda  saw  all  this  at  the  first  glance, 
as  Mary  Anne  had  seen  it,  and,  like  Mary 
Anne,  lost  her  breath;  but,  on  her  second 
glance,  she  saw  something  more.  On  the 
pretty,  slight  hands  were  three  wonderful, 
sparkling  rings,  composed  of  diamonds  set  in 
clusters :  there  were  great  solitaires  in  the 
neat  little  ears,  and  the  thickly-plaited  lace 
at  the  throat  was  fastened  by  a  diamond 
clasp. 

"My  dear,"  said  Miss  Belinda,  clutching 
helplessly  at  the  teapot,  "are  you  —  surely 
it  is  a  —  a  little  dangerous  to  wear  such  — 
such  priceless  ornaments  on  ordinary  occa 
sions." 

Octavia  stared  at  her  for  a  moment  un- 
comprehendingly. 

"  Your  jewels,  I  mean,  my  love,"  fluttered 
Miss  Belinda.  "  Surely  you  don't  wear  them 


AN  INVESTMENT,  ANYWAY.  21 

often.  I  declare,  it  quite  frightens  me  to 
think  of  having  such  things  in  the  house." 

"  Does  it  ?  "  said  Octavia.    "  That's  queer." 

And  she  looked  puzzled  for  a  moment 
again. 

Then  she  glanced  down  at  her  rings. 

"  I  nearly  always  wear  these,"  she  re 
marked.  "Father  gave  them  to  me.  He 
gave  me  one  each  birthday  for  three  years. 
He  says  diamonds  are  an  investment,  any 
way,  and  I  might  as  well  have  them.  These," 
touching  the  ear-rings  and  clasp,  "  were  given 
to  my  mother  when  she  was  on  the  stage. 
A  lot  of  people  clubbed  together,  and  bought 
them  for  her.  She  was  a  great  favorite." 

Miss  Belinda  made  another  clutch  at  the 
handle  of  the  teapot. 

"  Your  mother !  "  she  exclaimed  faintly. 
"  On  the  —  did  you  say,  on  the  "  — 

"  Stage,"  answered  Octavia.  "  San  Fran 
cisco.  Father  married  her  there.  She  was 
awfully  pretty.  I  don't  remember  her.  She 
died  when  I  was  born.  She  was  only  nine 
teen." 

The  utter  calmness,  and  freedom  from  em 
barrassment,  with  which  these  announcements 


22  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

were  made,  almost  shook  Miss  Belinda's  faith 
in  her  own  identity.  Strange  to  say,  until 
this  moment  she  had  scarcely  given  a  thought 
to  her  brother's  wife ;  and  to  find  herself 
sitting  in  her  own  genteel  little  parlor,  be 
hind  her  own  tea-service,  with  her  hand  upon 
her  own  teapot,  hearing  that  this  wife  had 
been  a  young  person  who  had  been  "  a  great 
favorite  "  upon  the  stage,  in  a  region  peopled, 
as  she  had  been  led  to  suppose,  by  gold- 
diggers  and  escaped  convicts,  was  almost  too 
much  for  her  to  support  herself  under.  But 
she  did  support  herself  bravely,  when  she 
had  time  to  rally. 

"  Help  yourself  to  some  fowl,  my  dear," 
she  said  hospitably,  even  though  very  faintly 
indeed,  "and  take  a  muffin." 

Octavia  did  so,  her  over-splendid  hands 
flashing  in  the  light  as  she  moved  them. 

"  American  girls  always  have  more  things 
than  English  girls,"  she  observed,  with  ad 
mirable  coolness.  "  They  dress  more.  I  have 
been  told  so  by  girls  who  have  been  in 
Europe.  And  I  have  more  things  than  most 
American  girls.  Father  had  more  money 
than  most  people  ;  that  was  one  reason  ;  and 


AN  INVESTMENT,   ANYWAY.  23 

he  spoiled  me,  I  suppose.  He  had  no  one 
else  to  give  things  to,  and  he  said  I  should 
have  every  thing  I  took  a  fancy  to.  He 
often  laughed  at  me  for  buying  things,  but 
he  never  said  I  shouldn't  buy  them." 

"  He  was  always  generous,"  sighed  Miss 
Belinda.  "  Poor,  dear  Martin  !  " 

Octavia  scarcely  entered  into  the  spirit  of 
this  mournful  sympathy.  She  was  fond  of 
her  father,  but  her  recollections  of  him  were 
not  pathetic  or  sentimental. 

"  He  took  me  with  him  wherever  he 
went,"  she  proceeded.  "  And  we  had  a 
teacher  from  the  States,  who  travelled  with 
us  sometimes.  He  never  sent  me  away  from 
him.  I  wouldn't  have  gone  if  he  had  wanted 
to  send  me  —  and  he  didn't  want  to,"  she 
added,  with  a  satisfied  little  laugh. 


24  A   FAIE  BARBARIAN. 


CHAPTER  III. 
L'AKGENTVILLE. 

Miss  BELINDA  sat,  looking  at  her  niece, 
with  a  sense  of  being  at  once  stunned  and 
fascinated.  To  see  a  creature  so  young,  so 
pretty,  so  luxuriously  splendid,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  simply  and  completely  at  ease 
with  herself  and  her  surroundings,  was  a 
revelation  quite  beyond  her  comprehension. 
The  best-bred  and  nicest  girls  Slowbridge 
could  produce  were  apt  to  look  a  trifle  con 
scious  and  timid  when  they  found  themselves 
attired  in  the  white  muslin  and  floral  deco 
rations  ;  but  this  slender  creature  sat  in  her 
gorgeous  attire,  her  train  flowing  over  the 
modest  carpet,  her  rings  flashing,  her  ear- 
pendants  twinkling,  apparently  entirely  ob 
livious  of,  or  indifferent  to,  the  fact  that  all 
her  belongings  were  sufficiently  out  of  place 
to  be  startling  beyond  measure. 

Her  chief  characteristic,  however,  seemed 


L'ARGENTVILLE.  25 

to  be  her  excessive  frankness.  She  did  not 
hesitate  at  all  to  make  the  most  remarkable 
statements  concerning  her  own  and  her  fa 
ther's  past  career.  She  made  them,  too, 
as  if  there  was  nothing  unusual  about  them. 
Twice,  in  her  childhood,  a  luckless  specula 
tion  had  left  her  father  penniless  ;  and  once 
he  had  taken  her  to  a  Californian  gold- 
diggers'  camp,  where  she  had  been  the  only 
female  member  of  the  somewhat  reckless 
communit}^. 

"But  they  were  pretty  good-natured,  and 
made  a  pet  of  me,"  she  said ;  "  and  we  did 
not  stay  very  long.  Father  had  a  stroke  of 
luck,  and  we  went  away.  I  was  sorry  when 
we  had  to  go,  and  so  were  the  men.  They 
made  me  a  presort  of  a  set  of  jewelry  made 
out  of  the  gold  they  had  got  themselves. 
There  is  a  breastpin  like  a  breastplate,  and  a 
necklace  like  a  dog-collar :  the  bracelets  tire 
my  arms,  and  the  ear-rings  pull  my  ears ;  but 
I  wear  them  sometimes  —  gold  girdle  and 
all." 

"  Did  I,"  inquired  Miss  Belinda  timidly, 
"  did  I  understand  you  to  say,  my  dear,  that 
your  father's  business  was  in  some  way  con 
nected  with  silver-mining  ?  " 


26  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"It  ^s  silver-mining,"  was  the  response. 
"  He  owns  some  mines,  you  know  "  — 

"Owns?"  said  Miss  Belinda,  much  flut 
tered;  "owns  some  silver-mines?  He  must 
be  a  very  rich  man,  —  a  very  rich  man.  I 
declare,  it  quite  takes  my  breath  away." 

"  Oh !  he  is  rich,"  said  Octavia ;  "  awfully 
rich  sometimes.  And  then  again  he  isn't. 
Shares  go  up,  you  know ;  and  then  they  go 
down,  and  you  don't  seem  to  have  any  tiling. 
But  father  generally  comes  out  right,  because 
he  is  lucky,  and  knows  how  to  manage." 

"  But  —  but  how  uncertain  !  "  gasped  Miss 
Belinda:  "I  should  be  perfectly  miserable. 
Poor,  dear  Mar  "  — 

"  Oh,  no,  you  wouldn't !  "  said  Octavia  : 
"you'd  get  used  to  it,  andl  wouldn't  mind 
much,  particularly  if  you  were  lucky  as 
father  is.  There  is  every  thing  in  being 
lucky,  and  knowing  how  to  manage.  When 
we  first  went  to  Bloody  Gulch  "  — 

"My  dear!"  cried  Miss  Belinda,  aghast. 
"I  —  I  beg  of  you"  — 

Octavia  stopped  short :  she  gazed  at  Miss 
Belinda  in  bewilderment,  as  she  had  done 
several  times  before. 


VARGENTVILLE.  27 

"Is  any  thing  the  matter? "she  inquired 
placidly. 

"My  dear  love,"  explained  Miss  Belinda 
innocently,  determined  at  least  to  do  her 
duty,  "it  is  not  customary  in  —  in  Slow- 
bridge,  —  in  fact,  I  think  I  may  say  in  Eng 
land,  —  to  use  such  —  such  exceedingly  —  I 
don't  want  to  wound  your  feelings,  my  dear, 
—  but  such  exceedingly  strong  expressions! 
I  refer,  my  dear,  to  the  one  which  began 
with  a  B.  It  is  really  considered  profane,  as 
well  as  dreadful  beyond  measure." 

" 4  The  one  which  began  with  a  B,": 
repeated  Octavia,  still  staring  at  her.  "  That 
is  the  name  of  a  place ;  but  I  didn't  name  it, 
you  know.  It  was  called  that,  in  the  first 
place,  because  a^>arty  of  men  were  surprised 
and  murdered  there,  while  they  were  asleep 
in  their  camp  at  night.  It  isn't  a  very  nice 
name,  of  course,  but  I'm  not  responsible  for 
it ;  and  besides,  now  the  place  is  growing, 
they  are  going  to  call  it  Athens  or  Magnolia 
Vale.  They  tried  L'Argentville  for  a  while ; 
but  people  would  call  it  Lodginville,  and  no 
body  liked  it." 

"  I  trust  you  never  lived  there,"  said  Miss 


28  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

Belinda.  "  I  beg  your  pardon  for  being  so 
horrified,  but  I  really  could  not  refrain  from 
starting  when  you  spoke  ;  and  I  cannot  help 
hoping  you  never  lived  there." 

"  I  live  there  now,  when  I  am  at  home," 
Octavia  replied.  "  The  mines  are  there  ;  and 
father  has  built  a  house,  and  had  the  furni 
ture  brought  on  from  New  York." 

Miss  Belinda  tried  not  to  shudder,  but 
almost  failed. 

"  Won't  you  take  another  muffin,  my  love  ?  " 
she  said,  with  a  sigh.  "  Do  take  another 
muffin." 

"  No,  thank  you,"  answered  Octavia ;  and 
it  must  be  confessed  that  she  looked  a  little 
bored,  as  she  leaned  back  in  her  chair,  and 
glanced  down  at  the  train  "of  her  dress.  It 
seemed  to  her  that  her  simplest  statement  or 
remark  created  a  sensation. 

Having  at  last  risen  from  the  tea-table,  she 
wandered  to  the  window,  and  stood  there, 
looking  out  at  Miss  Belinda's  flower-garden. 
It  was  quite  a  pretty  flower-garden,  and  a 
good-sized  one  considering  the  dimensions 
of  the  house.  There  were  an  oval  grass-plot, 
divers  gravel  paths,  heart  and  diamond 


rAEGENTVILLE.  29 

shaped  beds  aglow  with  brilliant  annuals,  a 
great  many  rose-bushes,  several  laburnums 
and  lilacs,  and  a  trim  hedge  of  holly  sur 
rounding  it. 

"  I  think  I  should  like  to  go  out  and  walk 
around  there,"  remarked  Octavia,  smothering 
a  little  yawn  behind  her  hand.  "  Suppose 
we  go  —  if  you  don't  care." 

"  Certainly,  my  dear,"  assented  Miss  Be 
linda.  "But  perhaps,"  with  a  delicately 
dubious  glance  at  her  attire,  "you  would 
like  to  make  some  little  alteration  in  your 
dress  —  to  put  something  a  little  —  dark 
over  it." 

Octavia  glanced  down  also. 

"  Oh,  no  !  "  she  replied :  "  it  will  do  well 
enough.  I  will  throw  a  scarf  over  my  head, 
though ;  not  because  I  need  it,"  unblushing- 
ly,  "but  because  I  have  a  lace  one  that  is 
very  becoming." 

She  went  up  to  her  room  for  the  article  in 
question,  and  in  three  minutes  was  down 
again.  When  she  first  caught  sight  of  her, 
Miss  Belinda  found  herself  obliged  to  clear 
her  throat  quite  suddenly.  What  Slow- 
bridge  would  think  of  seeing  such  a  toilet 


30  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

in  her  front  garden,  upon  an  ordinary  occa 
sion,  she  could  not  imagine.  The  scarf  truly 
was  becoming.  It  was  a  long  affair  of  rich 
white  lace,  and  was  thrown  over  the  girl's 
head,  wound  around  her  throat,  and  the  ends 
tossed  over  her  shoulders,  with  the  most  pic 
turesque  air  of  carelessness  in  the  world. 

"You  look  quite  like  a  bride,  my  clear 
Octavia,"  said  Miss  Belinda,  "We  are 
scarcely  used  to  such  things  in  Slowbridge." 

But  Octavia  only  laughed  a  little. 

"  I  am  going  to  get  some  pink  roses,  and 
fasten  the  ends  with  them,  when  we  get  into 
the  garden,"  she  said. 

She  stopped  for  this  purpose  at  the  first 
rose-bush  they  reached.  She  gathered  half 
a  dozen  slender-stemmed,  heavy-headed  buds, 
and,  having  fastened  the  lace  with  some,  was 
carelessly  placing  the  rest  at  her  waist,  when 
Miss  Belinda  started  violently. 


LADY  THEOBALD.  31 


CHAPTER   IV. 

LADY   THEOBALD. 

"  OH,  dear ! "  she  exclaimed  nervously, 
"there  is  Lady  Theobald." 

Lady  Theobald,  having  been  making  calls 
of  state,  was  returning  home  rather  later 
than  usual,  when,  in  driving  up  High  Street, 
her  eye  fell  upon  Miss  Bassett's  garden. 
She  put  up  her  eyeglasses,  and  gazed  through 
them  severely;  then  she  issued  a  mandate 
to  her  coachman. 

"  Dobson,"  she  said,  "  drive  more  slowly." 

She  could  not  believe  the  evidence  of  her 
own  eyeglasses.  In  Miss  6assett's  garden 
she  saw  a  tall  girl,  "  dressed,"  as  she  put  it, 
"like  an  actress,"  her  delicate  dress  trailing 
upon  the  grass,  a  white  lace  scarf  about  her 
head  and  shoulders,  roses  in  that  scarf,  roses 
at  her  waist. 

"  Good  heavens  !  "  she  exclaimed :  "  is 
Belinda  Bassett  giving  a  party,  without  so 
much  as  mentioning  it  to  me  ?  " 


32  A  FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

Then  she  issued  another  mandate. 

"Dobson,"  she  said,  "drive  faster,  and 
drive  me  to  Miss  Bassett's." 

Miss  Belinda  came  out  to  the  gate  to  meet 
her,  quaking  inwardly.  Octavia  simply 
turned  slightly  where  she  stood,  and  looked 
at  her  ladyship,  without  any  pretence  of  con 
cealing  her  curiosity. 

Lady  Theobald  bent  forward  in  her  landau. 

"  Belinda,"  she  said,  "  how  do  you  do  ?  I 
did  not  know  you  intended  to  introduce  gar 
den-parties  into  Slowbridge." 

"Dear  Lady  Theobald "— began  Miss 
Belinda. 

"  Who  is  that  young  person  ?  "  demanded 
her  ladyship. 

"  She  is  poor  dear  Martin's  daughter," 
answered  Miss  Belinda.  "  She  arrived  to 
day  —  from  Nevada,  where  —  where  it  ap 
pears  Martin  has  been  very  fortunate,  and 
owns  a  great  many  silver-mines"  — 

"  A  '  great  many '  silver-mines  I  "  cried 
Lady  Theobald.  "Are  you  mad,  Belinda 
Bassett?  I  am  ashamed  of  you.  At  your 
time  of  life  too  !  " 

Miss  Belinda  almost  shed  tears. 


LADY  THEOBALD.  33 

"  She  said  c  some  silver-mines,'  I  am  sure," 
she  faltered ;  "  for  I  remember  how  aston 
ished  and  bewildered  I  was.  The  fact  is, 
that  she  is  such  a  very  singular  girl,  and  has 
told  me  so  many  wonderful  things,  in  the 
strangest,  cool  way,  that  I  am  quite  uncer 
tain  of  myself.  Murderers,  and  gold-diggers, 
and  silver-mines,  and  camps  full  of  men  with 
out  women,  making  presents  of  gold  girdles 
and  dog-collars,  and  ear-rings  that  drag  your 
ears  clown.  It  is  enough  to  upset  any  one." 

"  I  should  think  so,"  responded  her  lady 
ship.  "  Open  the  carriage-door,  Belinda, 
and  let  me  get  out." 

She  felt  that  this  matter  must  be  inquired 
into  at  once,  and  not  allowed  to  go  too  far. 
She  had  ruled  Slowbridge  too  long  to  allow 
such  innovations  to  remain  uninvestigated. 
She  would  not  be  likely  to  be  "upset,"  at 
least.  She  descended  from  her  landau,  with 
her  most  rigorous  air.  Her  stout,  rich  black 
moire-antique  gown  rustled  severely;  the 
yellow  ostrich  feather  in  her  bonnet  waved 
majestically.  (Being  a  brunette,  and  Lady 
Theobald,  she  wore  yellow.)  As  she  tramped 
up  the  gravel  walk,  she  held  up  her  dress 


34  A   FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

with,  both  hands,  as  an  example  to  vulgar 
and  reckless  young  people  who  wore  trains 
and  left  them  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

Octavia  was  arranging  afresh  the  bunch  of 
long-stemmed,  swaying  buds  at  her  waist, 
and  she  was  giving  all  her  attention  to  her 
task  when  her  visitor  first  addressed  her. 

"How  do  you  do?"  remarked  her  lady 
ship,  in  a  fine,  deep  voice. 

Miss  Belinda  followed  her  meekly. 

"Octavia,"  she  explained,  "this  is  Lady 
Theobald,  whom  you  will  be  very  glad  to 
know.  She  knew  your  father." 

"  Yes,"  returned  ray  lady,  "  years  ago.  He 
has  had  time  to  improve  since  then.  How 
do  you  do  ?  " 

Octavia's  limpid  eyes  rested  serenely  upon 
her. 

"How  do  you  do?"  she  said,  rather  in 
differently. 

"  You  are  from  Nevada  ? "  asked  Lady 
Theobald. 

"Yes." 

"  It  is  not  long  since  you  left  there  ?  " 

Octavia  smiled  faintly. 

"  Do  I  look  like  that  ?  "  she  inquired. 


LADY  THEOBALD.  35 

"  Like  what  ?  "  said  my  lady. 

"  As  if  I  had  not  long  lived  in  a  civilized 
place.  I  dare  say  I  do,  because  it  is  true 
that  I  haven't." 

"  You  don't  look  like  an  English  girl," 
remarked  her  ladyship. 

Octavia  smiled  again.  She  looked  at  the 
yellow  feather  and  stout  moire  antique  dress, 
but  quite  as  if  by  accident,  and  without  any 
mental  deduction;  then  she  glanced  at  the 
rosebuds  in  her  hand. 

"  I  suppose  I  ought  to  be  sorry  for  that," 
she  observed.  "I  dare  say  I  shall  be  in 
time  —  when  I  have  been  longer  away  from 
Nevada." 

"I  must  confers,"  admitted  her  ladyship, 
and  evidently  without  the  least  regret  or 
embarrassment,  "  I  must  confess  that  I  don't 
know  where  Nevada  is." 

"  It  isn't  in  Europe,"  replied  Octavia,  with 
a  soft,  light  laugh.  "  You  know  that,  don't 
you?" 

The  words  themselves  sounded  to  Lady 
Theobald  like  the  most  outrageous  impu 
dence;  but  when  she  looked  at  the  pretty, 
lovelock-shaded  face,  she  was  staggered  — 


36  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

the  look  it  wore  was  such  a  very  innocent 
and  undisturbed  one.  At  the  moment,  the 
only  solution  to  be  reached  seemed  to  be 
that  this  was  the  style  of  young  people  in 
Nevada,  and  that  it  was  ignorance  and  not 
insolence  she  had  to  do  battle  with  —  which, 
indeed,  was  partially  true. 

"I  have  not  had  any  occasion  to  inquire 
where  it  is  situated,  so  far,"  she  responded 
firmly.  "  It  is  not  so  necessary  for  English 
people  to  know  America  as  it  is  for  Ameri 
cans  to  know  England." 

"Isn't  it?"  said  Octavia,  without  any 
great  show  of  interest.  "  Why  not?" 

"  For  —  for  a  great  many  reasons  it  would 
be  fatiguing  to  explain,"  she  answered  cour 
ageously.  "  How  is  your  father  ?  " 

"  He  is  very  sea-sick  now,"  was  the  smiling 
answer,  —  "  deadly  sea-sick.  He  has  been 
out  just  twenty-four  hours." 

"  Out  ?     What  does  that  mean  ?  " 

"Out  on  the  Atlantic.  He  was  called 
back  suddenly,  and  obliged  to  leave  me. 
That  is  why  I  came  here  alone." 

"Pray  do  come  into  the  parlor,  and  sit 
down,  dear  Lady  Theobald,"  ventured  Miss 
Belinda.  "  Octavia  "  — 


LADY   THEOBALD.  37 

"  Don't  you  think  it  is  nicer  out  here  ?  " 
said  O  eta  via. 

"  My  dear,"  answered  Miss  Belinda. 
"  Lady  Theobald  "-  She  was  really  quite 
shocked. 

"  Ah !  "  interposed  Octavia.  "  I  only 
thought  it  was  cooler." 

She  preceded  them,  without  seeming  to 
be  at  all  conscious  that  slje  was  taking  the 
lead. 

"  You  had  better  pick  up  your  dress,  Miss 
Octavia,"  said  Lady  Theobald  rather  acidly. 

The  girl  glanced  over  her  shoulder  at  the 
length  of  train  sweeping  the  path,  but  she 
made  no  movement  toward  picking  it  up. 

"  It  is  too  much  trouble,  and  one  has  to 
duck  down  so,"  she  said.  "  It  is  bad  enough 
to  have  to  keep  doing  it  when  one  is  on  the 
street.  Besides,  they  would  never  wear  out 
if  one  took  too  much  care  of  them." 

When  they  went  into  the  parlor,  and  sat 
down,  Lady  Theobald  made  excellent  use  of 
her  time,  and  managed  to  hear  again  all  that 
had  tried  and  bewildered  Miss  Belinda.  She 
had  no  hesitation  in  asking  questions  boldly ; 
she  considered  it  her  privilege  to  do  so :  she 


38  A   FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

had  catechised  Slowbridge  for  forty  years, 
and  meant  to  maintain  her  rights  until  Time 
played  her  the  knave's  trick  of  disabling 
her. 

In  half  an  hour  she  had  heard  about  the 
silver-mines,  the  gold-diggers,  and  L'Argent- 
ville ;  she  knew  that  Martin  Bassett  was  a 
millionnaire,  if  the  news  he  had  heard  had  not 
left  him  penniless ;  that  he  would  return  to 
England,  and  visit  Slowbridge,  as  soon  as 
his  affairs  were  settled.  The  precarious 
condition  of  his  finances  did  not  seem  to 
cause  Octavia  much  concern.  She  had 
asked  no  questions  when  he  went  away, 
and  seemed  quite  at  ease  regarding  the 
future. 

"  People  will  always  lend  him  money,  and 
then  he  is  lucky  with  it,"  she  said. 

She  bore  the  catechising  very  well.  Her 
replies  were  frequently  rather  trying  to  her 
interlocutor,  but  she  never  seemed  troubled, 
or  ashamed  of  any  thing  she  had  to  say ;  and 
she  wore,  from  first  to  last,  that  inscrutably 
innocent  and  indifferent  little  air. 

She  did  not  even  show  confusion  when 
Lady  Theobald,  on  going  away,  made  her 
farewell  comment :  — 


LADY  THEOBALD.  39 

"You  are  a  very  fortunate  girl  to  own 
such  jewels,"  she  said,  glancing  critically  at 
the  diamonds  in  her  ears  ;  "  but  if  you  take 
my  advice,  my  dear,  you  will  put  them  away, 
and  save  them  until  you  are  a  married  woman. 
It  is  not  customary,  on  this  side  of  the  water, 
for  young  girls  to  wear  such  things  —  par 
ticularly  on  ordinary  occasions.  People  will 
think  you  are  odd." 

"  It  is  not  exactly  customary  in  America," 
replied  Octavia,  with  'her  undisturbed  smile. 
"  There  are  not  many  girls  who  have  such 
things.  Perhaps  they  would  wear  them  if 
they  had  them.  I  don't  care  a  very  great 
deal  about  them,  but  I  mean  to  wear  them." 

Lady  Theobald  went  away  in  a  dudgeon. 

"  You  will  have,  to  exercise  your  authority, 
Belinda,  and  make  her  put  them  away,"  she 
said  to  Miss  Bassett.  "  It  is  absurd  —  be 
sides  being  atrocious." 

"Make  her  !  "  faltered  Miss  Bassett. 

"  Yes,  4  make  her '  —  though  I  see  you  will 
have  your  hands  full.  I  never  heard  such 
romancing  stories  in  my  life.  It  is  just  what 
one  might  expect  from  your  brother  Mar 
tin." 


40  A   FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

When  Miss  Bassett  returned,  Octavia  was 
standing  before  the  window,  watching  the 
carriage  drive  away,  and  playing  absently 
with  one  of  her  ear-rings  as  she  did  so. 

"What  an  old  fright  she  is  !  "  was  her  first 
guileless  remark. 

Miss  Belinda  quite  bridled. 

"My  dear,"  she  said,  with  dignity,  "no 
one  in  Slowbridge  would  think  of  applying 
such  a  phrase  to  Lady  Theobald." 

Octavia  turned  around,  and  looked  at 
her. 

"But  don't  you  think  she  is  one?"  she 
exclaimed.  "Perhaps  I  oughtn't  to  have 
said  it ;  but  you  know  we  haven't  any  thing 
as  bad  as  that,  even  out  in  Nevada  —  really !  " 

"  My  dear,"  said  Miss  Belinda,  "  different 
countries  contain  different  people;  and  in 
Slov  bridge  we  have  our  standards,"  —  her 
best  cap  trembling  a  little  with  her  repressed 
excitement. 

But  Octavia  did  not  appear  overwhelmed 
by  the  existence  of  the  standards  in  ques 
tion.  She  turned  to  the  window  again. 

"Well,  anyway,"  she  said,  "I  think  it 
was  pretty  cool  in  her  to  order  me  to  take 


LADY  THEOBALD.  41 

off  my  diamonds,  and  save  them  until  I  was 
married.  How  does  she  know  whether  I 
mean  to  be  married,  or  not  ?  I  don't  know 
that  I  care  about  it." 


42  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 


CHAPTER    V. 

LUCIA. 

IN  this  manner  Slowbridge  received  the 
shock  which  shook  it  to  its  foundations,  and 
it  was  a  shock  from  which  it  did  not  recover 
for  some  time.  Before  ten  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  everybody  knew  of  the  arrival  of 
Martin  Basse tt's  daughter. 

The  very  boarding-school  (Miss  Pilcher's 
select  seminary  for  young  ladies,  "com 
bining  the  comforts  of  a  home,"  as  the 
circular  said,  "with  all  the  advantages  of 
genteel  education ")  was  on  fire  with  it, 
highly  colored  versions  of  the  stories  told 
being  circulated  from  the  "  first  class  "  down 
ward,  even  taking  the  form  of  an  Indian 
princess,  tattooed  blue,  and  with  difficulty 
restrained  from  indulging  in  war-whoops,  — 
which  last  feature  so  alarmed  little  Miss  Big- 
bee,  aged  seven,  that  she  retired  in  fear  and 
trembling,  and  shed  tears  under  the  bed- 


LUCIA.  43 

clothes ;  her  terror  and  anguish  being  much 
increased  by  the  stirring  recitals  of  scalping- 
stories  by  pretty  Miss  Phipps,  of  the  first 
class  —  a  young  person  who  possessed  a  vivid 
imagination,  and  delighted  in  romances  of 
a  tragic  turn. 

"I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt,"  said 
Miss  Phipps,  "that  when  she  is  at  home  she 
lives  in  a  wampum." 

"What  is  a  wampum?"  inquired  one  of 
her  admiring  audience. 

"  A  tent,"  replied  Miss  Phipps,  with  some 
impatience.  "I  should  think  any  goose 
would  know  that.  It  is  a  kind  of  tent  hung 
with  scalps  and  —  and  —  moccasins,  and  — 
lariats  —  and  things  of  that  sort." 

"  I  don't  believe  that  is  the  right  name  for 
it,"  put  in  Miss  Smith,  who  was  a  pert  mem 
ber  of  the  third  class. 

"Ah!"  commented  Miss  Phipps,  "that 
was  Miss  Smith  who  spoke,  of  course.  We 
may  always  expect  information  from  Miss 
Smith.  I  trust  that  I  may  be  allowed  to 
say  that  I  think  I  have  a  brother  "  — 

"  He  doesn't  know  much  about  it,  if  he 
calls  a  wigwam  a  wampum,"  interposed  Miss 


44  A  FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

Smith,  with  still  greater  pertness.  "  I  have 
a  brother  who  knows  better  than  that,  if  I 
am  only  in  the  third  class." 

For  a  moment  Miss  Phipps  appeared  to  be 
meditating.  Perhaps  she  was  a  trifle  dis 
comfited;  but  she  recovered  herself  after  a 
brief  pause,  and  returned  to  the  charge. 

"Well,"  she  remarked,  "perhaps  it  is  a 
wigwam.  Who  cares  if  it  is?  And  at  any 
rate,  whatever  it  is,  I  haven't  the  slightest 
doubt  that  she  lives  in  one." 

This  comparatively  tame  version  was,  how 
ever,  entirely  discarded  when  the  diamonds 
and  silver -mines  began  to  figure  more 
largely  in  the  reports.  Certainly,  pretty, 
overdressed,  jewel-bedecked  Octavia  gave 
Slowbridge  abundant  cause  for  excitement. 

After  leaving  her,  Lady  Theobald  drove 
home  to  Oldclough  Hall,  rather  out  of 
humor.  She  had  been  rather  out  of  humor 
for  some  time,  having  never  quite  recovered 
from  her  anger  at  the  daring  of  that  cheerful 
builder  of  mills,  Mr.  John  Burmistone.  Mr. 
Burmistone  had  been  one  innovation,  and 
Octavia  Bassett  was  another.  She  had  not 
been  able  to  manage  Mr.  Burmistone,  and 


LUCIA.  45 

she  was  not  at  all  sure  that  she  had  managed 
Octavia  Bassett. 

She  entered  the  dining-room  with  an  omin 
ous  frown  on  her  forehead. 

At  the  end  of  the  table,  opposite  her  own 
seat,  was  a  vacant  chair,  and  her  frown  deep 
ened  when  she  saw  it. 

"  Where  is  Miss  Gaston  ?  "  she  demanded 
of  the  servant. 

Before  the  man  had  time  to  reply,  the 
door  opened,  and  a  girl  came  in  hurriedly, 
with  a  somewhat  frightened  air. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  grandmamma  dear,"  she 
said,  going  to  her  seat  quickly.  "  I  did  not 
know  you  had  come  home." 

"  We  have  a  dinner-hour,"  announced  her 
ladyship,  "and  I  do  not  disregard  it." 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  faltered  the  culprit. 

"  That  is  enough,  Lucia,"  interrupted  Lady 
Theobald ;  and  Lucia  dropped  her  eyes,  and 
began  to  eat  her  soup  with  nervous  haste. 
In  fact,  she  was  glad  to  escape  so  easily. 

She  was  a  very  pretty  creature,  with 
brown  ej^es,  a  soft  white  skin,  and  a  slight 
figure  with  a  reed-like  grace.  A  great  quan 
tity  of  brown  hair  was  twisted  into  an  ugly 


46  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

coil  on  the  top  of  her  delicate  little  head; 
and  she  wore  an  ugly  muslin  gown  of  Miss 
Chickie's  make. 

For  some  time  the  meal  progressed  in 
dead  silence ;  but  at  length  Lucia  ventured 
to  raise  her  eyes. 

"I  have  been  walking  in  Slowbridge, 
grandmamma,"  she  said,  uand  I  met  Mr. 
Burmistone,  who  told  me  that  Miss  Bassett 
has  a  visitor  —  a  young  lady  from  America." 

Lady  Theobald  laid  her  knife  and  fork 
down  deliberately. 

"  Mr.  Burmistone  ?  "  she  said.  "  Did  I  un 
derstand  you  to  say  that  you  stopped  on  the 
roadside  to  converse  with  Mr.  Burmistone  ?  " 

Lucia  colored  up  to  her  delicate  eyebrows 
and  above  them. 

"  I  was  trying  to  reach  a  flower  growing 
on  the  bank,"  she  said,  "  and  he  was  so  kind 
as  to  stop  to  get  it  for  me.  I  did  not  know 
he  was  near  at  first.  And  then  he  inquired 
how  you  were  —  and  told  me  he  had  just 
heard  about  the  young  lady." 

"  Naturally !  "  remarked  her  ladyship  sar 
donically.  "  It  is  as  I  anticipated  it  would 
be.  We  shall  find  Mr.  Burmistone  at  our 


LUCIA.  47 

elbows  upon  all  occasions.  And  he  will  not 
allow  himself  to  be  easily  driven  away.  He 
is  as  determined  as  persons  of  his  class 
usually  are." 

"O  grandmamma!"  protested  Lucia, 
with  innocent  fervor.  "I  really  do  not 
think  he  is  —  like  that  at  all.  I  could  not 
help  thinking  he  was  very  gentlemanly  and 
kind.  He  is  so  much  interested  in  your 
school,  and  so  anxious  that  it  should  pros 
per." 

"May  I  ask,"  inquired  Lady  Theobald, 
"  how  long  a  time  this  generous  expression 
of  his  sentiments  occupied?  Was  this  the 
reason  of  your  forgetting  the  dinner-hour  ?  " 

"  We  did  not  "  —  said  Lucia  guiltily  :  "  it 
did  not  take  many  minutes.  I  —  I  do  not 
think  that  made  me  late." 

Lady  Theobald  dismissed  this  paltry  ex 
cuse  with  one  remark,  —  a  remark  made  in 
the  deep  tones  referred  to  once  before. 

"I  should  scarcely  have  expected,"  she 
observed,  "  that  a  granddaughter  of  mine 
would  have  spent  half  an  hour  conversing 
on  the  public  road  with  the  proprietor  of 
Slowbridge  Mills." 


48  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

"  O  grandmamma  !  "  exclaimed  Lucia, 
the  tears  rising  in  her  eyes:  "it  was  not 
half  an  hour." 

"  I  should  scarcely  have  expected,"  replied 
her  ladyship,  "  that  a  granddaughter  of  mine 
would  have  spent  five  minutes  conversing  on 
the  public  road  with  the  proprietor  of  Slow- 
bridge  Mills." 

To  this  assault  there  seemed  to  be  no  re 
ply  to  make.  Lady  Theobald  had  her  grand 
daughter  under  excellent  control.  Under 
her  rigorous  rule,  the  girl  —  whose  mother 
had  died  at  her  birth  —  had  been  brought, 
up.  At  nineteen  she  was  simple,  sensitive, 
shy.  She  had  been  permitted  to  have  no 
companions,  and  the  greatest  excitements  of 
her  life  had  been  the  Slowbridge  tea-parties. 
Of  the  late  Sir  Gilbert  Theobald,  the  less 
said  the  better.  He  had  spent  very  little  of 
his  married  life  at  Oldclough  Hall,  and  upon 
his  death  his  widow  had  found  herself  pos 
sessed  of  a  substantial,  gloomy  mansion,  an 
exalted  position  in  Slowbridge  society,  and  a 
small  marriage-settlement,  upon  which  she 
might  make  all  the  efforts  she  chose  to  sus 
tain  her  state.  So  Lucia  wore  her  dresses  a 


LUCIA.  49 

much  longer  time  than  any  other  Slowbridge 
young  lady :  she  was  obliged  to  mend  her 
little  gloves  again  and  again;  and  her  hats 
were  retrimmed  so  often  that  even  Slow- 
bridge  thought  them  old-fashioned.  But  she 
was  too  simple  and  sweet-natured  to  be 
much  troubled,  and  indeed  thought  very 
little  about  the  matter.  She  was  only  trou 
bled  when  Lady  Theobald  scolded  her,  which 
was  by  no  means  infrequently.  Perhaps  the 
straits  to  which,  at  times,  her  ladyship  was 
put  to  maintain  her  dignity  imbittered  her 
somewhat. 

"Lucia  is  neither  a  Theobald  nor  a  Bar- 
old,"  she  had  been  heard  to  say  once,  and 
she  had  said  it  with  much  rigor. 

A  subject  of  much  conversation  in  private 
circles  had  been  Lucia's  future.  It  had  been 
discussed  in  whispers  since  her  seventeenth 
}^ear,  but  no  one  had  seemed  to  approach 
any  solution  of  the  difficulty.  Upon  the 
subject  of  her  plans  for  her  granddaughter, 
Lady  Theobald  had  preserved  stern  silence. 
Once,  and  once  only,  she  had  allowed  her 
self  to  be  betrayed  into  the  expression  of  a 
sentiment  connected  with  the  matter. 


50  A   FAIE   BARBARIAN. 

"If  Miss  Lucia  marries"  —  a  matron  of 
reckless  proclivities  had  remarked. 

Lady  Theobald  turned  upon  her,  slowly 
and  majestically. 

"If  Miss  Gaston  marries,"  she  repeated. 
"  Does  it  seem  likely  that  Miss  Gaston  will 
not  marry  ?  " 

This  settled  the  matter  finally.  Lucia  was 
to  be  married  when  Lady  Theobald  thought 
fit.  So  far,  however,  she  had  not  thought 
fit :  indeed,  there  had  been  nobody  for  Lucia 
to  marry,  —  nobody  whom  her  grandmother 
would  have  allowed  her  to  marry,  at  least. 
There  were  very  few  young  men  in  Slow- 
bridge  ;  and  the  very  few  were  scarcely  eligi 
ble  according  to  Lady  Theobald's  standard, 
and  —  if  such  a  thing  should  be  mentioned  — 
to  Lucia's,  if  she  had  known  she  had  one, 
which  she  certainly  did  not. 


ACCIDENTAL.  51 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ACCIDENTAL. 

WHEN  dinner  was  over,  Lady  Theobald 
rose,  and  proceeded  to  the  drawing-room, 
Lucia  following  in  her  wake.  From  her  very 
babyhood  Lncia  had  disliked  the  drawing- 
room,  which  was  an  imposing  apartment  of 
great  length  and  height,  containing  much 
massive  furniture,  upholstered,  in  faded  blue 
satin.  All  the  girl's  evenings,  since  her  fifth 
year,  had  been  spent  sitting  opposite  her 
grandmother,  in  one  of  the  straightest  of  the 
blue  chairs :  all  the  most  scathing  reproofs 
she  had  received  had  been  administered  to 
her  at  such  times.  She  had  a  secret  theory, 
indeed,  that  all  unpleasant  things  occurred 
in  the  drawing-room  after  dinner. 

Just  as  they  had  seated  themselves,  and 
Lady  Theobald  was  on  the  point  of  drawing 
toward  her  the  little  basket  containing  the 
gray  woollen  mittens  she  made  a  duty  of 


52  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

employing  herself  by  knitting  each  evening, 
Dobson,  the  coachman,  in  his  character  of 
footman,  threw  open  the  door,  and  announced 
a  visitor. 

"  Capt.  Barold." 

Lady  Theobald  dropped  her  gray  mitten, 
the  steel  needles  falling  upon  the  table  with 
a  clink.  She  rose  to  her  feet  at  once,  and 
met  half-way  the  young  man  who  had  entered. 

"  My  dear  Francis,"  she  remarked,  "  I  am 
exceedingly  glad  to  see  you  at  last,"  with  a 
slight  emphasis  upon  the  "  at  last." 

"  Tha-anks,"  said  Capt.  Barold,  rather  lan 
guidly.  "  You're  very  good,  I'm  sure." 

Then  he  glanced  at  Lucia,  and  Lady  Theo 
bald  addressed  her :  — 

"Lucia,"  she  said,  "this  is  Francis  Barold, 
who  is  your  cousin." 

Capt.  Barold  shook  hands  feebly. 

"  I  have  been  trying  to  find  out  whether 
It  is  third  or  fourth,"  he  said. 

"It  is  third,"  said  my  lady. 

Lucia  had  never  seen  her  display  such 
cordiality  to  anybody.  But  Capt.  Francis 
Barold  did  not  seem  much  impressed  by  it. 
It  struck  Lucia  that  he  would  not  be  likely 


ACCIDENTAL.  53 

to  be  impressed  by  any  thing.  He  seated 
himself  near  her  grandmother's  chair,  and 
proceeded  to  explain  his  presence  on  the 
spot,  without  exhibiting  much  interest  even 
in  his  own  relation  of  facts. 

"I  promised  the  Rathburns  that  I  would 
spend  a  week  at  their  place  ;  and  Slowbridge 
was  on  the  way,  so  it  occurred  to  me  I  would 
drop  off  in  passing.  The  Rathburns'  place, 
Broadoaks,  is  about  ten  miles  farther  on; 
not  far,  you  see." 

"Then,"  said  Lady  Theobald,  "I  am  to 
understand  that  your  visit  is  accidental." 

Capt.  Barold  was  not  embarrassed.  He 
did  not  attempt  to  avoid  her  ladyship's  rather 
stern  eye,  as  he  made  his  cool  reply. 

"Well,  yes,"  he  said.  "I  beg  pardon,  but 
it  is  accidental,  rather." 

Lucia  gave  him  a  pretty,  frightened  look, 
as  if  she  felt  that,  after  such  an  audacious 
confession,  something  very  serious  must  hap 
pen;  but  nothing  serious  happened  at  all. 
Singularly  enough,  it  was  Lady  Theobald 
herself  who  looked  ill  at  ease,  and  as  though 
she  had  not  been  prepared  for  such  a  contin 
gency. 


54  A  FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

During  the  whole  of  the  evening,  in  fact, 
it  was  always  Lady  Theobald  who  was  placed 
at  a  disadvantage,  Lucia  discovered.  She 
could  hardly  realize  the  fact  at  first;  but 
before  an  hour  had  passed,  its  truth  was 
forced  upon  her. 

Capt.  Barold  was  a  very  striking-looking 
man,  upon  the  whole.  He  was  large,  grace 
fully  built,  and  fair :  his  eyes  were  gray,  and 
noticeable  for  the  coldness  of  their  expression, 
his  features  regular  and  aquiline,  his  move 
ments  leisurely. 

As  he  conversed  with  her  grandmother, 
Lucia  wondered  at  him  privately.  It  seemed 
to  her  innocent  mind  that  he  had  been  every 
where,  and  seen  every  thing  and  everybody, 
without  caring  for  or  enjoying  his  privileges. 
The  truth  was,  that  he  had  seen  and  experi 
enced  a  great  deal  too  much.  As  an  only 
child,  the  heir  to  a  large  property,  and  heir 
prospective  to  one  of  the  oldest  titles  in  the 
country,  he  had  exhausted  life  early.  He 
saw  in  Lady  Theobald,  not  the  imposing 
head  and  social  front  of  Slowbridge  social 
life,  the  power  who  rewarded  with  approval 
and  punished  with  a  frown,  but  a  tiresome, 


ACCIDENTAL.  55 

pretentious  old  woman,  whom  his  mother 
had  asked  him,  for  some  feminine  reason,  to 
visit. 

"  She  feels  she  has  a  claim  upon  us,  Fran 
cis,"  she  had  said  appealingly. 

"  Well,"  he  had  remarked,  "  that  is  rather 
deuced  cool,  isn't  it?  We  have  people 
enough  on  our  hands  without  cultivating 
Slowbridge,  you  know." 

His  mother  sighed  faintly. 

"  It  is  true  we  have  a  great  many  people 
to  consider ;  but  I  wish  you  would  do  it,  my 
dear." 

She  did  not  say  any  thing  at  all  about 
Lucia :  above  all,  she  did  not  mention  that  a 
year  ago  she  herself  had  spent  two  or  three 
days  at  Slowbridge,  and  had  been  charmed 
beyond  measure  by  the  girl's  innocent  fresh 
ness,  and  that  she  had  said,  rather  absently, 
to  Lady  Theobald,  — 

"What  a  charming  wife  Lucia  would  make 
for  a  man  to  whom  gentleness  and  a  yielding 
disposition  were  necessary !  We  do  not  find 
such  girls  in  society  nowadays,  my  dear 
Lady  Theobald.  It  is  very  difficult  of  late 
years  to  find  a  girl  who  is  not  spoken  of  as 


56  A   FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

'fast,'  and  who  is  not  disposed  to  take  the 
reins  in  her  own  hands.  Our  young  men  are 
flattered  and  courted  until  they  become  a 
little  dictatorial,  and  our  girls  are  spoiled  at 
home.  And  the  result  is  a  great  deal  of  do 
mestic  unhappiness  afterward  —  and  even  a 
great  deal  of  scandal,  which  is  dreadful  to 
contemplate.  I  cannot  help  feeling  the  great 
est  anxiety  in  secret  concerning  Francis. 
Young  men  so  seldom  consider  these  matters 
until  it  is  too  late." 

"  Girls  are  not  trained  as  they  were  in  my 
young  days,  or  even  in  yours,"  said  Lady 
Theobald.  "  They  are  allowed  too  much 
liberty.  Lucia  has  been  brought  up  imme 
diately  under  my  own  eye." 

"I  feel  that  it  is  fortunate,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Barold,  quite  incidentally,  "that  Francis  need 
not  make  a  point  of  money." 

For  a  few  moments  Lady  Theobald  did 
not  respond ;  but  afterward,  in  the  course  of 
the  conversation  which  followed,  she  made 
an  observation  which  was,  of  course,  purely 
incidental. 

"  If  Lucia  makes  a  marriage  which  pleases 
her  great-uncle,  old  Mr.  Dugald  Binnie,  of 


ACCIDENTAL.  57 

Glasgow,  she  will  be  a  very  fortunate  girl. 
He  has  intimated,  in  his  eccentric  fashion, 
that  his  immense  fortune  will  either  be  hers, 
or  will  be  spent  in  building  charitable  asy 
lums  of  various  kinds.  He  is  a  remarkable 
and  singular  man." 

When  Capt.  Barold  had  entered  his  dis 
tinguished  relative's  drawing-room,  he  had 
not  regarded  his  third  cousin  with  a  very 
great  deal  of  interest.  He  had  seen  too 
many  beauties  in  his  thirty  years  to  be 
greatly  moved  by  the  sight  of  one  ;  and  here 
was  only  a  girl  who  had  soft  eyes,  and  looked 
young  for  her  age,  and  who  wore  an  ugly 
muslin  gown,  that  most  girls  could  not  have 
carried  off  at  all. 

"  You  have  spent  the  greater  part  of  your 
life  in  Slowbridge  ?  "  he  condescended  to  say 
in  the  course  of  the  evening. 

"I  have  lived  here  always,"  Lucia  an 
swered.  "I  have  never  been  away  more 
than  a  week  at  a  time." 

"  Ah  ?  "  interrogatively.  "  I  hope  you  have 
not  found  it  dull." 

"No,"  smiling  a  little.  " Not  very.  You 
see,  I  have  known  nothing  gayer." 


58  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  There  is  society  enough  of  a  harmless 
kind  here,"  spoke,  up  Lady  Theobald  virtu 
ously.  "  I  do  not  approve  of  a  round  of  gay- 
eties  for  young  people :  it  unfits  them  for 
the  duties  of  life." 

But  Capt.  Barold  was  not  as  favorably 
impressed  by  these  remarks  as  might  have 
been  anticipated. 

"  What  an  old  fool  she  is  !  "  was  his  polite 
inward  comment.  And  he  resolved  at  once 
to  make  his  visit  as  brief  as  possible,  and 
not  to  be  induced  to  run  down  again  during 
his  stay  at  Broadoaks.  He  did  not  even 
take  the  trouble  to  appear  to  enjoy  his  even 
ing.  From  his  earliest  infancy,  he  had  always 
found  it  easier  to  please  himself  than  to 
please  other  people.  In  fact,  the  world  had 
devoted  itself  to  endeavoring  to  please  him, 
and  win  his  —  toleration,  we  may  say,  instead 
of  admiration,  since  it  could  not  hope  for  the 
latter.  At  home  he  had  been  adored  rap 
turously  by  a  large  circle  of  affectionate  male 
and  female  relatives  ;  at  school  his  tutors  had 
been  singularly  indulgent  of  his  faults  and 
admiring  of  his  talents ;  even  among  his  fel 
low-pupils  he  had  been  a  sort  of  autocrat. 


ACCIDENTAL.  59 

Wlty  not,  indeed,  with  such  birthrights  and 
such  prospects  ?  When  he  had  entered  soci 
ety,  he  had  met  with  even  more  amiable 
treatment  from  affectionate  mothers,  from 
innocent  daughters,  from  cordial  paternal 
parents,  who  voted  him  an  exceedingly  fine 
fellow.  Why  should  he  bore  himself  by 
taking  the  trouble  to  seem  pleased  by  a 
stupid  evening  with  an  old  grenadier  in 
petticoats  and  a  badly  dressed  country 
girl? 

Lucia  was  very  glad  when,  in  answer  to 
a  timidly  appealing  glance,  Lady  Theobald 
said,  — 

"It  is  half-past  ten.  You  may  wish  us 
good-night,  Lucia." 

Lucia  obeyed,  as  if  she  had  been  half-past 
ten  herself,  instead  of  nearly  twenty;  and 
Barold  was  not  long  in  following  her  ex 
ample. 

Dobson  led  him  to  a  stately  chamber  at 
the  top  of  the  staircase,  and  left  him  there. 
The  captain  chose  the  largest  and  most  luxu 
rious  chair,  sat  down  in  it,  and  lighted  a 
cigar  at  his  leisure. 

"  Confoundedly  stupid  hole  !  "  he  said  with 


60  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

a  refined  vigor  one  would  scarcely  have  ex 
pected  from  an  individual  of  his  birth  and 
breeding.  "  I  shall  leave  to-morrow,  of  course. 
What  was  my  mother  thinking  of?  Stupid 
business  from  first  to  last." 


'I  SHOULD  LIKE  TO   SEE  MORE."      61 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"I   SHOULD    LIKE   TO    SEE   MOKE    OF 
SLOWBKIDGE." 

WHEN  he  announced  at  breakfast  his  in 
tention  of  taking  his  departure  on  the  mid 
day  train,  Lucia  wondered  again  what  would 
happen;  and  again,  to  her  relief,  Lady  Theo 
bald  was  astonishingly  lenient. 

"  As  your  friends  expect  you,  of  course  we 
cannot  overrule  them,"  she  said.  "  We  will, 
however,  hope  to  see  something  of  you  dur 
ing  your  stay  at  Broadoaks.  It  will  be  very 
easy  for  you  to  run  down  and  give  us  a  few 
hours  now  and  then." 

"  Tha-anks,"  said  Capt.  Barold. 

He  was  decently  civil,  if  not  enthusiastic, 
during  the  few  remaining  hours  of  his  stay. 
He  sauntered  through  the  grounds  with 
Lucia,  who  took  charge  of  him  in  obedience 
to  her  grandmother's  wish.  He  did  not  find 
her  particularly  troublesome  when  she  was 


62  A  FAIE  BARBARIAN. 

away  from  her  ladyship's  side.  When  she 
came  out  to  him  in  her  simple  cotton  gown 
and  straw  hat,  it  occurred  to  him  that  she 
was  much  prettier  than  he  had  thought  her 
at  first.  For  economical  reasons  she  had 
made  the  little  morning-dress  herself,  with 
out  the  slightest  regard  for  the  designs  of 
Miss  Chickie ;  and  as  it  was  not  trimmed  at 
all,  and  had  only  a  black-velvet  ribbon  at  the 
waist,  there  was  nothing  to  place  her  charm 
ing  figure  at  a  disadvantage.  It  could  not  be 
said  that  her  shyness  and  simplicity  delighted 
Capt.  Barold,  but,  at  least,  they  did  not  dis 
please  him ;  and  this  was  really  as  much  as 
could  be  expected. 

"  She  does  not  expect  a  fellow  to  exert 
himself,  at  all  events,"  was  his  inward  com 
ment  ;  and  he  did  not  exert  himself. 

But,  when  on  the  point  of  taking  his 
departure,  he  went  so  far  as  to  make  a  very 
gracious  remark  to  her. 

"  I  hope  we  shall  have  the  pleasure  oi 
seeing  you  in  London  for  a  season,  before 
very  long,"  he  said :  "  my  mother  will  have 
great  pleasure  in  taking  charge  of  you,  if 
Lady  Theobald  cannot  be  induced  to  leave 
Slowbridge." 


"I  SHOULD  LIKE   TO   SEE  MORE."      63 

"  Lucia  never  goes  from  home  alone,"  said 
Lady  Theobald ;  "  but  I  should  certainly  be 
obliged  to  call  upon  your  mother  for  her 
good  offices,  in  the  case  of  our  spending  a 
season  in  London.  I  am  too  old  a  woman  to 
alter  my  mode  of  life  altogether." 

In  obedience  to  her  ladyship's  orders,  the 
venerable  landau  was  brought  to  the  door ; 
and  the  two  ladies  drove  to  the  station  with 
him. 

It  was  during  this  drive  that  a  very  curi 
ous  incident  occurred,  — an  incident  to  which, 
perhaps,  this  story  owes  its  existence,  since, 
if  it  had  not  taken  place,  there  might,  very 
possibly,  have  been  no  events  of  a  stirring 
nature  to  chronicle.  Just  as  Dobson  drove 
rather  slowly  up  the  part  of  High  Street  dis 
tinguished  by  the  presence  of  Miss  Belinda 
Bassett's  house,  Capt.  Barold  suddenly  ap 
peared  to  be  attracted  by  some  figure  he  dis 
covered  in  the  garden  appertaining  to  that 
modest  structure. 

"  By  Jove !  "  he  exclaimed,  in  an  under 
tone,  "  there  is  Miss  Octavia." 

For  the  moment  he  was  almost  roused  to 
a  display  of  interest.  A  faint  smile  lighted 


64  A  FAIR  BABBABIAN. 

his  face,  and  his  cold,  handsome  eyes  slightly 
brightened. 

Lady  Theobald  sat  bolt  upright. 

"  That  is  Miss  Bassett's  niece,  from  Ameri 
ca,"  she  said.  "  Do  I  understand  you  know 
her?" 

Capt.  Barold  turned  to  confront  her,  evi 
dently  annoyed  at  having  allowed  a  surprise 
to  get  the  better  of  him.  All  expression 
died  out  of  his  face. 

"  I  travelled  with  her  from  Framwich  to 
Stamford,"  he  said.  "  I  suppose  we  should 
have  reached  Slowbridge  together,  but  that  I 
dropped  off  at  Stamford  to  get  a  newspaper, 
and  the  train  left  me  behind." 

"  O  grandmamma ! "  exclaimed  Lucia, 
who  had  turned  to  look,  "  how  very  pretty 
she  is  !  " 

Miss  Octavia  certainly  was  amazingly  so 
this  morning.  She  was  standing  by  a  rose 
bush  again,  and  was  dressed  in  a  cashmere 
morning-robe  of  the  finest  texture  and  the 
faintest  pink :  it  had  a  Watteau  plait  down 
the  back,  a  jabot  of  lace  down  the  front,  and 
the  close,  high  frills  of  lace  around  the  throat 
which  seemed  to  be  a  weakness  with  her. 


"I  SHOULD  LIKE  TO   SEE  MOEE."      65 

Her  hair  was  dressed  high  upon  her  head, 
and  showed  to  advantage  her  little  ears  and 
as  much  of  her  slim  white  neck  as  the  frills 
did  not  conceal. 

But  Lady  Theobald  did  not  share  Lucia's 
enthusiasm. 

"  She  looks  like  an  actress,"  she  said.  "  If 
the  trees  were  painted  canvas  and  the  roses 
artificial,  one  might  have  some  patience  with 
her.  That  kind  of  thing  is  scarcely  what  we 
expect  in  Slowbridge." 

Then  she  turned  to  Barold. 

"  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  her  yes 
terday,  not  long  after  she  arrived,"  she  said. 
"She  had  diamonds  in  her  ears  as  big  as 
peas,  and  rings  to  match.  Her  manner  is 
just  what  one  might  expect  from  a  young 
woman  brought  up  among  gold-diggers  and 
silver-miners." 

"  It  struck  me  as  being  a  very  unique  and 
interesting  manner,"  said  Capt.  Barold.  "  It 
is  chiefly  noticeable  for  a  sang-froid  which 
might  be  regarded  as  rather  enviable.  She 
was  good  enough  to  tell  me  all  about  her 
papa  and  the  silver-mines,  and  I  really  found 
the  conversation  entertaining." 


66  A   FA  IE   BARBARIAN. 

"It  is  scarcely  customary  for  English 
young  women  to  confide  in  their  masculine 
travelling  companions  to  such  an  extent," 
remarked  my  lady  grimly. 

"  She  did  not  confide  in  me  at  all,"  said 
Barold.  "  Therein  lay  her  attraction.  One 
cannot  submit  to  being  'confided  in'  by  a 
strange  young  woman,  however  charming. 
This  young  lady's  remarks  were  flavored 
solely  with  an  adorably  cool  candor.  She 
evidently  did  not  desire  to  appeal  to  any 
emotion  whatever." 

And  as  he  leaned  back  in  his  seat,  he  still 
looked  at  the  picturesque  figure  which  they 
had  passed,  as  if  he  would  not  have  been 
sorry  to  see  it  turn  its  head  toward  him. 

In  fact,  it  seemed  that,  notwithstanding 
his  usual  good  fortune,  Capt.  Barold  was 
doomed  this  morning  to  make  remarks  of  a 
nature  objectionable  to  his  revered  relation. 
On  their  way  they  passed  Mr.  Burmistone's 
mill,  which  was  at  work  in  all  its  vigor,  with 
a  whir  and  buzz  of  machinery,  and  a  slight 
odor  of  oil  in  its  surrounding  atmosphere. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Mr.  Barold,  putting  his  single 
eyeglass  into  his  eye,  and  scanning  it  after 


"I  SHOULD  LIKE  TO   SEE  MOEE."      67 

the  manner  of  experts.  "I  did  riot  think 
you  had  any  thing  of  that  sort  here.  Who 
put  it  up  ?  " 

"  The  man's  name,"  replied  Lady  Theo 
bald  severely,  "is  Burmistone." 

"  Pretty  good  idea,  isn't  it  ? "  remarked 
Barold.  "  Good  for  the  place  —  and  all  that 
sort  of  thing." 

"  To  my  mind,"  answered  my  lady,  "it  is 
the  worst  possible  thing  which  could  have 
happened." 

Mr.  Francis  Barold  dropped  his  eyeglass 
dexterously,  and  at  once  lapsed  into  his 
normal  condition  —  which  was  a  condition  by 
no  means  favorable  to  argument. 

"  Think  so  ?  "  he  said  slowly.  "  Pity,  isn't 
it,  under  the  circumstances  ?  " 

And  really  there  was  nothing  at  all  for  her 
ladyship  to  do  but  preserve  a  lofty  silence. 
She  had  scarcely  recovered  herself  when  they 
reached  the  station,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
say  farewell  as  complacently  as  possible. 

"  We  will  hope  to  see  you  again  before 
many  days,"  she  said  with  dignity,  if  not 
with  warmth. 

Mr.  Francis  Barold  was  silent  for  a  second, 


68  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

and  a  slightly  reflective  expression  flitted 
across  his  face. 

"  Thanks,  yes,"  he  said  at  last.  "  Certain 
ly.  It  is  easy  to  come  down,  and  I  should 
like  to  see  more  of  Slowbridge." 

When  the  train  had  puffed  in  and  out  of 
the  station,  and  Dobson  was  driving  down 
High  Street  again,  her  ladyship's  feelings 
rather  got  the  better  of  her. 

"  If  Belinda  Bassett  is  a  wise  woman,"  she 
remarked,  "  she  will  take  my  advice,  and  get 
rid  of  this  young  lady  as  soon  as  possible. 
It  appears  to  me,"  she  continued,  with  ex 
alted  piety,  "  that  every  well-trained  English 
girl  has  reason  to  thank  her  Maker  that  she 
was  born  in  a  civilized  land." 

"  Perhaps,"  suggested  Lucia  softly,  "  Miss 
Octavia  Bassett  has  had  no  one  to  train  her 
at  all ;  and  it  may  be  that  —  that  she  even 
feels  it  deeply." 

The  feathers  in  her  ladyship's  bonnet 
trembled. 

"  She  does  not  feel  it  at  all !  "  she  an 
nounced.  "  She  is  an  impertinent  —  minx  ! " 


SHARES  LOOKING    UP.  69 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

SHARES  LOOKING   UP. 

THERE  were  others  who  echoed  her  lady 
ship's  words  afterward,  though  they  echoed 
them  privately,  and  with  more  caution  than 
my  lady  felt  necessary.  It  is  certain  that 
Miss  Octavia  Bassett  did  not  improve  as 
time  progressed,  and  she  had  enlarged  oppor 
tunities  for  studying  the  noble  example  set 
before  her  by  Slowbridge. 

On  his  arrival  in  New  York,  Martin  Bassett 
telegraphed  to  his  daughter  and  sister,  per 
Atlantic  cable,  informing  them  that  he  might 
be  detained  a  couple  of  months,  and  bidding 
them  to  be  of  good  cheer.  The  arrival  of  the 
message  in  its  official  envelope  so  alarmed 
Miss  Belinda,  that  she  was  supported  by 
Mary  Anne  while  it  was  read  to  her  by  Oc 
tavia,  who  received  it  without  any  surprise 
whatever.  For  some  time  after  its  comple 
tion,  Slowbridge  had  privately  disbelieved  in 


70  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

the  Atlantic  cable,  and,  until  this  occasion, 
had  certainly  disbelieved  in  the  existence  of 
people  who  received  messages  through  it. 
In  fact,  on  first  finding  that  she  was  the  re 
cipient  of  such  a  message,  Miss  Belinda  had 
made  immediate  preparations  for  fainting 
quietly  away,  being  fully  convinced  that  a 
shipwreck  had  occurred,'  which  had  resulted 
in  her  brother's  death,  and  that  his  executors 
had  chosen  this  delicate  method  of  breaking 
the  news. 

"  A  message  by  Atlantic  cable  ?  "  she  had 
gasped.  "Don't  —  don't  read  it,  my  love. 
L-let  some  one  else  do  that.  Poor  —  poor 
child !  Trust  in  Providence,  my  love,  and 
—  and  bear  up.  Ah,  how  I  wish  I  had  a 
stronger  mind,  and  could  be  of  more  service 
to  you!" 

"  It's  a  message  from  father,"  said  Octavia. 
"  Nothing  is  the  matter.  He's  all  right.  He 
got  in  on  Saturday." 

"  Ah ! "  panted  Miss  Belinda.  "  Are 
you  quite  sure,  my  dear  —  are  you  quite 
sure?" 

"  That's  what  he  says.     Listen." 


SHARES  LOOKING    UP.  71 

"  Got  in  Saturday.  Piper  met  me.  Shares  look 
ing  up.  May  be  kept  here  two  months.  Will  write. 

Keep  up  your  spirits. 

"MARTIN  BASSETT." 

"  Thank  Heaven  !  "  sighed  Miss  Belinda. 
"  Thank  Heaven  !  " 

"Why?"  said  Octavia. 

"  Why  ?  "  echoed  Miss  Belinda.  "  Ah,  my 
dear,  if  you  knew  how  terrified  I  was !  I  felt 
sure  that  something  had  happened.  A  cable 
message,  my  dear !  I  never  received  a  tele 
gram  in  my  life  before,  and  to  receive  a  cable 
message  was  really  a  shock.'" 

"Well,  I  don't  see  why,"  said  Octavia. 
"It  seems  to  me  it  is  pretty  much  like  any 
other  message." 

Miss  Belinda  regarded  her  timidly. 

"  Does  your  papa  often  send  them  ?  "  she 
inquired.  "  Surely  it  must  be  expensive." 

"I  don't  suppose  it's  cheap,"  Octavia  re 
plied,  "  but  it  saves  time  and  worry.  I 
should  have  had  to  wait  twelve  days  for  a 
letter." 

"  Very  true,"  said  Miss  Belinda,  "  but  "  — 

She  broke  off  with  rather  a  distressed 
shake  of  the  head.  Her  simple  ideas  of  econ- 


72  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

omy  and  quiet  living  were  frequently  upset 
in  these  times.  She  had  begun  to  regard 
her  niece  with  a  slight  feeling  of  awe ;  and 
yet  Octavia  had  not  been  doing  any  thing 
at  all  remarkable  in  her  own  eyes,  and  con 
sidered  her  life  pretty  dull. 

If  the  elder  Miss  Bassett,  her  parents  and 
grandparents,  had  not  been  so  thoroughly 
well  known,  and  so  universally  respected; 
if  their  social  position  had  not  been  so  firmly 
established,  and  their  quiet  lives  not  quite  so 
highly  respectable,  —  there  is  an  awful  possi 
bility  that  Slowbridge  might  even  have  gone 
so  far  as  not  to  ask  Octavia  out  to  tea  at  all. 
But  even  Lady  Theobald  felt  that  it  would 
not  do  to  slight  Belinda  Basse tt's  niece  and 
guest.  To  omit  the  customary  state  teas 
would  have  been  to  crush  innocent  Miss  Be 
linda  at  a  blow,  and  place  her  —  through  the 
medium  of  this  young  lady,  who  alone  de 
served  condemnation  —  beyond  the  pale  of 
all  social  law. 

"  It  is  only  to  be  regretted,"  said  her  lady 
ship,  "  that  Belinda  Bassett  has  not  arranged 
things  better.  Relatives  of  such  an  order 
arev  certainly  to  be  deplored," 


SHARES  LOOKING    UP.  73 

In  secret  Lucia  felt  much  soft-hearted 
sympathy  for  both  Miss  Bassett  and  her 
guest.  She  could  not  help  wondering  how 
Miss  Belinda  became  responsible  for  the 
calamity  which  had  fallen  upon  her.  It 
really  did  not  seem  probable  that  she  had 
been  previously  consulted  as  to  the  kind  of 
niece  she  desired,  or  that  she  had,  in  a  dis 
tinct  manner,  evinced  a  preference  for  a 
niece  of  this  description. 

"  Perhaps,  dear  grandmamma,"  the  girl  ven 
tured,  "  it  is  because  Miss  Octavia  Bassett  is 
so  young  that  "  — 

"  May  I  ask,"  inquired  Lady  Theobald,  in 
fell  tones,  "  how  old  you  are  ?  " 

"I  was  nineteen  in  —  in  December." 

"  Miss  Octavia  Bassett,"  said  her  ladyship, 
"was  nineteen  last  October,  and  it  is  now 
June.  I  have  not  yet  found  it  necessary  to 
apologize  for  you  on  the  score  of  youth." 

But  it  was  her  ladyship  who  took  the  ini 
tiative,  and  set  an  evening  for  entertaining 
Miss  Belinda  and  her  niece,  in  company  with 
several  other  ladies,  with  the  best  bohea,  thin 
bread  and  butter,  plum-cake,  and  various 
other  delicacies. 


74  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  What  do  they  do  at  such  places  ?  "  asked 
Octavia.  "  Half-past  five  is  pretty  early." 

"We  spend  some  time  at  the  tea-table,  my 
dear,"  explained  Miss  Belinda.  "And  after 
ward  we  —  we  converse.  A  few  of  us  play 
whist.  I  do  not.  I  feel  as  if  I  were  not 
clever  enough,  and  I  get  flurried  too  easily 
by  —  by  differences  of  opinion." 

"  I  should  think  it  wasn't  very  exciting," 
said  Octavia.  "I  don't  fancy  I  ever  went 
to  an  entertainment  where  they  did  nothing 
but  drink  tea,  and  talk." 

"It  is  not  our  intention  or  desire  to  be 
exciting,  my  dear,"  Miss  Belinda  replied 
with  mild  dignity.  "  And  an  improving  con 
versation  is  frequently  most  beneficial  to  the 
parties  engaged  in  it." 

"I'm  afraid,"  Octavia  observed,  "that  I 
never  heard  much  improving  conversation." 

She  was  really  no  fonder  of  masculine 
society  than  the  generality  of  girls ;  but  she 
could  not  help  wondering  if  there  would  be 
any  young  men  present,  and  if,  indeed,  there 
were  any  young  men  in  Slowbridge  who 
might  possibly  be  produced  upon  festive 
occasions,  even  though  ordinarily,  kept  in 


SHARES  LOOKING    UP.  75 

the  background.  She  had  not  heard  Miss 
Belinda  mention  any  masculine  name  so  far, 
but  that  of  the  curate  of  St.  James's ;  and, 
when  she  had  seen  him  pass  the  house,  she 
had  not  found  his  slim,  black  figure,  and 
faint,  ecclesiastic  whiskers,  especially  inter 
esting. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  Miss  Belinda 
suffered  many  pangs  of  anxiety  in  looking 
forward  to  her  young  kinswoman's  first  ap 
pearance  in  society.  A  tea  at  Lady  Theo 
bald's  house  constituted  formal  presentation 
to  the  Slowbridge  world.  Each  young  lady 
within  the  pale  of  genteel  society,  having 
arrived  at  years  of  discretion,  on  returning 
home  from  boarding-school,  was  invited  to 
tea  at  Oldclough  Hall.  During  an  entire 
evening  she  was  the  subject  of  watchful 
criticism.  Her  deportment  was  remarked,, 
her  accomplishments  displayed,  she  per 
formed  her  last  new  "  pieces "  upon  the 
piano,  she  was  drawn  into  conversation  by 
her  hostess;  and  upon  the  timid  modesty  of 
her  replies,  and  the  reverence  of  her  listening 
attitudes,  depended  her  future  social  status. 
So  it  was  very  natural  indeed  that  Miss 
Belinda  should  be  anxious. 


76  A   FAIR  BAEBAE1AN. 

"I  would  wear  something  rather  quiet 
and  —  and  simple,  my  dear  Octavia,"  she 
said.  "  A  white  muslin  perhaps,  with  blue 
ribbons." 

"  Would  you  ?  "  answered  Octavia.  Then, 
after  appearing  to  reflect  upon  the  matter  a 
few  seconds,  "  I've  got  one  that  would  do,  if 
it's  warm  enough  to  wear  it.  I  bought  it  in 
New  York,  but  it  came  from  Paris.  I've 
never  worn  it  yet." 

"  It  would  be  nicer  than  any  thing  else, 
my  love,"  said  Miss  Belinda,  delighted  to 
find*  her  difficulty  so  easily  disposed  of. 
"Nothing  is  so  charming  in  the  dress  of  a 
young  girl  as  pure  simplicity.  Our  Slow- 
bridge  }roung  ladies  rarely  wear  any  thing 
but  white  for  evening.  Miss  Chickie  as 
sured  me,  a  few  weeks  ago,  that  she  had 
made  fifteen  white-muslin  dresses,  all  after 
one  simple  design  of  her  own." 

"I  shouldn't  think  that  was  particularly 
nice,  myself,"  remarked  Octavia  impartially. 
"  I  should  be  glad  one  of  the  fifteen  didn't 
belong  to  me.  I  should  feel  as  if  people 
might  say,  when  I  came  into  a  room,  '  Good 
gracious,  there's  another  ! ' ' 


SHARES  LOOKING    UP.  77 

"  The  first  was  made  for  Miss  Lucia  Gas- 
ton,  who  is  Lady  Theobald's  niece,"  replied 
Miss  Belinda  mildly.  "And  there  are  few 
young  ladies  in  Slowbridge  who  would  not 
emulate  her  example." 

"Oh!"  said  Octavia,  "I  dare  say  she  is 
very  nice,  and  all  that ;  but  I  don't  believe 
I  should  care  to  copy  her  dresses.  I  think  I 
should  draw  the  line  there." 

But  she  said  it  without  any  ill-nature  ;  and, 
sensitive  as  Miss  Belinda  was  upon  the  sub 
ject  of  her  cherished  ideals,  she  could  not 
take  offence. 

When  the  eventful  evening  arrived,  there 
was  excitement  in  more  than  one  establish 
ment  upon  High  Street  and  the  streets  in  its 
vicinity.  The  stories  of  the  diamonds,  the 
gold-diggers,  and  the  silver-mines,  had  been 
added  to,  and  embellished,  in  the  most  ornate 
and  startling  manner.  It  was  well  known 
that  only  Lady  Theobald's  fine  appreciation 
of  Miss  Belinda  Bassett's  feelings  had  in 
duced  her  to  extend  her  hospitalities  to  that 
lady's  niece. 

"  I  would  prefer,  my  dear,"  said  more  than 
one  discreet  matron  to  her  daughter,  as  they 


78  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

attired  themselves,  —  "I  would  much  prefer 
that  you  would  remain  near  me  during  the 
earlier  part  of  the  evening,  before  we  know 
how  this  young  lady  may  turn  out.  Let 
your  manner  toward  her  be  kind,  but  not 
familiar.  It  is  well  to  be  upon  the  safe  side." 

What  precise  line  of  conduct  it  was  gen 
erally  anticipated  that  this  gold-digging  and 
silver-mining  young  person  would  adopt,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say :  it  is  sufficient  that 
the  general  sentiments  regarding  her  were 
of  a  distrustful,  if  not  timorous,  nature. 

To  Miss  Bassett,  who  felt  all  this  in  the 
very  air  she  breathed,  the  girl's  innocence  of 
the  condition  of  affairs  was  even  a  little 
touching.  With  all  her  splendor,  she  was 
not  at  all  hard  to  please,  and  had  quite 
awakened  to  an  interest  in  the  impending 
social  event.  She  seemed  in  good  spirits, 
and  talked  more  than  was  her  custom,  giving 
Miss  Belinda  graphic  descriptions  of  various 
festal  gatherings  she  had  attended  in  New 
York,  when  she  seemed  to  have  been  very 
gay  indeed,  and  to  have  worn  very  beautiful 
dresses,  and  also  to  have  had  rather  more 
than  her  share  of  partners.  The  phrases  she 


SHAEES  LOOKING    UP.  79 

used,  and  the  dances  she  described,  were  all 
strange  to  Miss  Belinda,  and  tended  to  re 
ducing  her  to  a  bewildered  condition,  in 
which  she  felt  much  timid  amazement  at  the 
intrepidity  of  the  New-York  young  ladies, 
and  no  slight  suspicion  of  the  "  German  "  — 
as  a  theatrical  kind  of  dance,  involving 
extraordinary  figures,  and  an  extraordinary 
amount  of  attention  from  partners  of  the 
stronger  sex. 

"It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  by  this 
time,  notwithstanding  the  various  shocks  she 
had  received,  Miss  Belinda  had  begun  to  dis 
cover  in  her  young  guest  divers  good  quali 
ties  which  appealed  to  her  affectionate  and 
susceptible  old  heart.  In  the  first  place,  the 
girl  had  no  small  affectations :  indeed,  if  she 
had  been  less  unaffected  she  might  have  been 
less  subject  to  severe  comment.  She  was 
good-natured,  and  generous  to  extravagance. 
Her  manner  toward  Mary  Anne  never  ceased 
to  arouse  Miss  Belinda  to  interest.  There 
was  not  any  condescension  whatever  in  it, 
and  yet  it  could  not  be  called  a  vulgarly 
familiar  manner :  it  was  rather  an  astonish 
ingly  simple  manner,  somehow  suggestive  of 


80  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

a  subtile  recognition  of  Mary  Anne's  youth, 
and  ill-luck  in  not  having  before  her  more 
lively  prospects.  She  gave  Mary  Anne  pres 
ents  in.  the  shape  of  articles  of  clothing  at 
which  Slowbridge  would  have  exclaimed  in 
horror  if  the  recipient  had  dared  to  wear 
them ;  but,  when  Miss  Belinda  expressed  her 
regret  at  these  indiscretions,  Octavia  was 
quite  willing  to  rectify  her  mistakes. 

"  Ah,  well !  "  she  said,  "  I  can  give  her  some 
money,  and  she  can  buy  some  things  for  her 
self."  Which  she  proceeded  to  do;  and 
when,  under  her  mistress's  direction,  Mary 
Anne  purchased  a  stout  brown  merino,  she 
took  quite  an  interest  in  her  struggles  at 
making  it. 

"  I  wouldn't  make  it  so  short  in  the  waist 
and  so  full  in  the  skirt,  if  I  were  you,"  she 
said.  "  There's  no  reason  why  it  shouldn't 
fit,  you  know,"  thereby  winning  the  house- 
maiden's  undying  adoration,  and  adding 
much  to  the  shapeliness  of  the  garment. 

"I  am  sure  she  has  a  good  heart,"  Miss 
Belinda  said  to  herself,  as  the  days  went  by. 
"  She  is  like  Martin  in  that.  I  dare  say  she 
finds  me  very  ignorant  and  silly.  I  often  see 


SHABES  LOOKING    UP.  81 

in  her  face  that  she  is  unable  to  understand 
my  feeling  about  things ;  but  she  never  seems 
to  laugh  at  me,  nor  think  of  me  unkindly. 
And  she  is  very,  very  pretty,  though  perhaps 
I  ought  not  to  think  of  that  at  all." 


82  A    FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

WHITE   MUSLIN. 

As  the  good  little  spinster  was  arraying 
herself  on  this  particular  evening,  having 
laid  upon  the  bed  the  greater  portion  of  her 
modest  splendor,  she  went  to  her  wardrobe, 
and  took  therefrom  the  sacred  bandbox  con 
taining  her  best  cap.  All  the  ladies  of  Slow- 
bridge  wore  caps ;  and  all  being  respectfully 
plagiarized  from  Lady  Theobald,  without  any 
reference  to  age,  size,  complexion,  or  de 
meanor,  the  result  was  sometimes  a  little 
trying.  Lady  Theobald's  head-dresses  were 
of  a  severe  and  bristling  order.  The  lace 
of  which  they  were  composed  was  induced 
by  some  ingenious  device  to  form  itself  into 
aggressive  quillings,  the  bows  seemed  lined 
with  buckram,  the  strings  neither  floated  nor 
fluttered. 

"To  a  majestic  person  the  style  is  very 


WHITE  MUSLIN.  83 

appropriate,"  Miss  Belinda  had  said  to  Octa- 
via  that  very  day;  "but  to  one  who  is  not 
so,  it  is  rather  trying.  Sometimes,  indeed,  I 
have  almost  wished  that  Miss  Chickie  would 
vary  a  little  more  in  her  designs." 

Perhaps  the  sight  of  the  various  articles 
contained  in  two  of  the  five  trunks  had 
inspired  these  doubts  in  the  dear  old  lady's 
breast:  it  is  certain,  at  least,  that,  as  she 
took  the  best  cap  up,  a  faint  sigh  fluttered 
upon  her  lips. 

"It  is  very  large  for  a  small  person,"  she 
said.  "  And  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  amber 
is  becoming  to  me." 

And  just  at  that  moment  there  came  a  tap 
at  the  door,  which  she  knew  was  from  Oc- 
tavia. 

She  laid  the  cap  back,  in  some  confusion 
at  being  surprised  in  a  moment  of  weakness. 

"  Come  in,  my  love,"  she  said. 

Octavia  pushed  the  door  open,  and  came 
in.  She  had  not  dressed  yet,  and  had  on 
her  wrapper  and  slippers,  which  were  both 
of  quilted  gray  silk,  gayly  embroidered  with 
carnations.  But  Miss  Belinda  had  seen  both 
wrapper  and  slippers  before,  and  had  become 


84  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

used  to  their  sumptuousness :  what  she  had 
not  seen  was  the  trifle  the  girl  held  in  her 
hand. 

"  See  here,"  she  said.  "  See  what  I  have 
been  making  for  you !  " 

She  looked  quite  elated,  and  laughed  tri 
umphantly. 

"I  did  not  know  I  could  do  it  until  I 
tried,"  she  said.  "I  had  seen  some  in  New 
York,  and  I  had  the  lace  by  me.  And  I 
have  enough  left  to  make  ruffles  for  your 
neck  and  wrists.  It's  Mechlin." 

"  My  dear ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Belinda. 
"My  dear!" 

Octavia  laughed  again. 

"Don't  you  know  what  it  is?"  she  said. 
"It  isn't  like  a  Slowbridge  cap;  but  it's  a 
cap,  nevertheless.  They  wear  them  like  this 
in  New  York,  and  I  think  they  are  ever  so 
much  prettier." 

It  was  true  that  it  was  not  like  a  Slow- 
bridge  cap,  and  was  also  true  that  it  was 
prettier.  It  was  a  delicate  affair  of  softly 
quilled  lace,  adorned  here  and  there  with 
loops  of  pale  satin  ribbon. 

"  Let  me  try  it  on,"  said  Octavia,  advan- 


WHITE  MUSLIN.  85 

cing;  and  in  a  minute  she  had  done  so,  and 
turned  Miss  Bassett  about  to  face  herself  in 
the  glass.  "  There  !  "  she  said.  "  Isn't  that 
better  than  — well,  than  emulating  Lady 
Theobald?" 

It  was  so  pretty  and  so  becoming,  and 
Miss  Belinda  was  so  touched  by  the  girl's 
innocent  enjoyment,  that  the  tears  came  into 
her  eyes. 

«My— -my  love,"  she  faltered,  "it  is  so 
beautiful,  and  so  expensive,  that  — though 
indeed  I  don't  know  how  to  thank  you  —  I 
am  afraid  I  should  not  clare  to  wear  it." 

"  Oh  !  "  answered  Octavia,  "  that's  non 
sense,  you  know.  I'm  sure  there's  no  reason 
why  people  shouldn't  wear  becoming  things. 
Besides,  I  should  be  awfully  disappointed. 
I  didn't  think  I  could  make  it,  and  I'm  real 
proud  of  it.  You  don't  know  how  becoming 

it  is  I " 

Miss  Belinda  looked  at  her  reflection,  and 
faltered.  It  was  becoming. 

"My  love,"  she  protested  faintly,  "real 
Mechlin!  There  is  really  no  such  lace  in 
Slowbridge. " 

"  All  the  better,"  said  Octavia  cheerfully. 


86  A  FAIR  BABBABIAN. 

"  I'm  glad  to  hear  that.  It  isn't  one  bit  too 
nice  for  you." 

To  Miss  Belinda's  astonishment,  she  drew 
a  step  nearer  to  her,  and  gave  one  of  the 
satin  loops  a  queer,  caressing  little  touch, 
which  actually  seemed  to  mean  something. 
And  then  suddenly  the  girl  stooped,  with  a 
little  laugh,  and  gave  her  aunt  a  light  kiss 
on  her  cheek. 

"  There  !  "  she  said.  "  You  must  take  it 
from  me  for  a  present.  I'll  go  and  make  the 
ruffles  this  minute  ;  and  you  must  wear  those 
too,  and  let  people  see  how  stylish  you  can 
be." 

And,  without  giving  Miss  Bassett  time  to 
speak,  she  ran  out  of  the  room,  and  left  the 
dear  old  lady  warmed  to  the  heart,  tearful, 
delighted,  frightened. 

A  coach  from  the  Blue  Lion  had  been  or 
dered  to  present  itself  at  a  quarter  past  five, 
promptly ;  and  at  the  time  specified  it  rattled 
up  to  the  door  with  much  spirit,  —  with  so 
much  spirit,  indeed,  that  Miss  Belinda  was  a 
little  alarmed. 

"  Dear,  dear  I "  she  said.  "  I  hope  the 
driver  will  be  able  to  control  the  horse,  and 


WHITE  MUSLIN.  87 

will  not  allow  him  to  go  too  fast.  One  hears 
of  such  terrible  accidents." 

Then  Mary  Anne  was  sent  to  announce 
the  arrival  of  the  equipage  to  Miss  Octavia, 
and,  having  performed  the  errand,  came 
back  beaming  with  smiles. 

"Oh,  mum,"  she  exclaimed,  "you  never 
see  nothin'  like  her !  Her  gownd  is  'evingly. 
An'  lor'  I  how  you  do  look  yourself,  to  be 
sure ! " 

Indeed,  the  lace  ruffles  on  her  "  best " 
black  silk,  and  the  little  cap  on  her  smooth 
hair,  had  done  a  great  deal  for  Miss  Bassett ; 
and  she  had  only  just  been  reproaching  her 
self  for  her  vanity  in  recognizing  this  fact. 
But  Mary  Anne's  words  awakened  a  new 
train  of  thought. 

"Is  —  is  Miss  Octavia's  dress  a  showy  one, 
Mary  Anne  ?  "  she  inquired.  "  Dear  me,  I 
do  hope  it  is  not  a  showy  dress !  " 

"  I  never  see  nothin'  no  elegaiiter,  mum," 
said  Mary  Anne :  "  she  wants  nothin'  but 
a  veil  to  make  a  bride  out  of  her  —  an'  a 
becominer  thing  she  never  has  wore." 

They  heard  the  soft  sweep  of  skirts  at  that 
moment,  and  Octavia  came  in. 


88  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  There  !  "  she  said,  stopping  when  she  had 
reached  the  middle  of  the  room.  uls  that 
simple  enough?" 

Miss  Belinda  could  only  look  at  her  help 
lessly.  The  "  white  muslin  "  was  composed 
almost  entirely  of  Valenciennes  lace ;  the 
blue  ribbons  were  embroidered  with  field- 
daisies;  the  air  of  delicate  elaborateness 
about  the  whole  was  something  which  her 
innocent  mind  could  not  have  believed  pos 
sible  in  orthodox  white  and  blue. 

"  I  don't  think  I  should  call  it  exactly  sim 
ple,"  she  said.  "  My  love,  what  a  quantity 
of  lace ! " 

Octavia  glanced  down  at  her  jabots  and 
frills  complacently. 

"  There  is  a  good  deal  of  it,"  she  re 
marked  ;  "  but  then,  it  is  nice,  and  one  can 
stand  a  good  deal  of  nice  Valenciennes  on 
white.  They  said  Worth  made  the  dress. 
I  hope  he  did.  It  cost  enough.  The  ribbon 
was  embroidered  by  hand,  I  suppose.  And 
there  is  plenty  of  it  cut  up  into  these  bows." 

There  was  no  more  to  be  said.  Miss 
Belinda  led  the  way  to  the  coach,  which 
they  entered  under  the  admiring  or  critical 


WHITE  MUSLIN.  89 

eyes  of  several  most  respectable  families, 
who  had  been  lying  in  wait  behind  their 
window-curtains  since  they  had  been  sum 
moned  there  by  the  sound  of  the  wheels. 

As  the  vehicle  rattled  past  the  boarding- 
school,  all  the  young  ladies  in  the  first  class 
rushed  to  the  window.  They  were  rewarded 
for  their  zeal  by  a  glimpse  of  a  cloud  of  mus 
lin  and  lace,  a  charmingly  dressed  yellow- 
brown  head,  and  a  pretty  face,  whose  eyes 
favored  them  with  a  frank  stare  of  interest. 

"  She  had  diamonds  in  her  ears !  "  cried 
Miss  Phipps,  wildly  excited.  "  I  saw  them 
flash.  Ah,  how  I  should  like  to  see  her  with 
out  her  wraps !  I  have  no  doubt  she  is  a 
perfect  blaze !  " 


90  A   FAIR   EAEBAEIAN. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ANNOUNCING   MR.    BAROLD. 

LADY  THEOBALD'S  invited  guests  sat  in 
the  faded  blue  drawing-room,  waiting.  Every 
body  had  been  unusually  prompt,  perhaps 
because  everybody  wished  to  be  on  the 
ground  in  time  to  see  Miss  Octavia  Bassett 
make  her  entrance. 

"  I  should  think  it  would  be  rather  a  trial, 
even  to  such  a  girl  as  she  is  said  to  be,"  re 
marked  one  matron. 

"It  is  but  natural  that  she  should  feel 
that  Lady  Theobald  will  regard  her  rather 
critically,  and  that  she  should  know  that 
American  manners  will  hardly  be  the  thing 
for  a  genteel  and  conservative  English  coun 
try  town." 

"  We  saw  her  a  few  days  ago,"  said  Lucia, 
who  chanced  to  hear  this  speech,  "  and  she 
is  very  pretty.  I  think  I  never  saw  any  one 
so  very  pretty  before." 


ANNOUNCING  ME.   BAROLD.  91 

"  But  in  quite  a  theatrical  way,  I  think, 
my  dear,"  the  matron  replied,  in  a  tone  of 
gentle  correction. 

"I  have  seen  so  very  few  theatrical  peo 
ple,"  Lucia  answered  sweetly,  "that  I  scarce 
ly  know  what  the  theatrical  way  is,  dear  Mrs. 
Burnham.  Her  dress  was  very  beautiful,  and 
not  like  what  we  wear  in  Slowbridge ;  but 
she  seemed  to  me  to  be  very  bright  and 
pretty,  in  a  way  quite  new  to  me,  and  so  just 
a  little  odd." 

"  I  have  heard  that  her  dress  is  most  ex 
travagant  and  wasteful,"  put  in  Miss  Pilcher, 
whose  educational  position  entitled  her  to 
the  condescending  respect  of  her  patron 
esses.  "  She  has  lace  on  her  morning  gowns, 
which  " — 

"  Miss  Bassett  and  Miss  Octavia  Bassett," 
announced  Dobson,  throwing  open  the  door. 

Lady  Theobald  rose  from  her  seat.  A 
slight  rustle  made  itself  heard  through  the 
company,  as  the  ladies  all  turned  toward 
the  entrance ;  and,  after  they  had  so  turned, 
there  were  evidences  of  a  positive  thrill. 
Before  the  eyes  of  all,  Belinda  Bassett  ad 
vanced  with  rich  ruffles  of  Mechlin  at  her 


92  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

neck  and  wrists,  with  a  delicate  and  dis 
tinctly  novel  cap  upon  her  head,  her  niece 
following  her  with  an  unabashed  face,  twenty 
pounds'  worth  of  lace  on  her  dress,  and  un 
mistakable  diamonds  in  her  little  ears. 

"  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  timidity  about 
her,"  cried  Mrs.  Burnham  under  her  breath. 
"  This  is  actual  boldness." 

But  this  was  a  very  severe  term  to  use, 
notwithstanding  that  it  was  born  of  righteous 
indignation.  It  was  not  boldness  at  all :  it 
was  only  the  serenity  of  a  young  person  who 
was  quite  unconscious  that  there  was  any 
thing  to  fear  in  the  rather  unimposing  party 
before  her.  Octavia  was  accustomed  to  en 
tering  rooms  full  of  strangers.  She  had 
spent  several  years  of  her  life  in  hotels, 
where  she  had  been  stared  out  of  counte 
nance  by  a  few  score  new  people  every  day. 
She  was  even  used  to  being,  in  some  sort,  a 
young  person  of  note.  It  was  nothing  un 
usual  for  her  to  know  that  she  was  being 
pointed  out.  "  That  pretty  blonde,"  she 
often  heard  it  said,  "is  Martin  Bassett's 
daughter:  sharp  fellow,  Bassett,  —  and  lucky 
fellow  too  ;  more  money  than  he  can  count.'* 


ANNOUNCING  MR.   BAROLD.  93 

So  she  was  not  at  all  frightened  when  she 
walked  in  behind  Miss  Belinda.  She  glanced 
about  her  cheerfully,  and,  catching  sight  of 
Lucia,  smiled  at  her  as  she  advanced  up  the 
room.  The  call  of  state  Lady  Theobald  had 
made  with  her  grand-daughter  had  been  a 
very  brief  one;  but  Octavia  had  taken  a  de 
cided  fancy  to  Lucia,  and  was  glad  to  see 
her  again. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Belinda,"  said  her 
ladyship,  shaking  hands.  "And  you  also, 
Miss  Octavia." 

"  Thank  you,"  responded  Octavia. 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  Miss  Belinda  mur 
mured  gratefully. 

"I  hope  you  are  both  well?"  said  Lady 
Theobald  with  majestic  condescension,  and 
in  tones  to  be  heard  all  over  the  room. 

"Quite  well,  thank  you,"  murmured  Miss 
Belinda  again.  "  Very  well  indeed ;  "  rather 
as  if  this  fortunate  state  of  affairs  was  the 
result  of  her  ladyship's  kind  intervention 
with  the  fates. 

She  felt  terribly  conscious  of  being  the 
centre  of  observation,  and  rather  overpow 
ered  by  the  novelty  of  her  attire,  which  was 


94  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

plainly  creating  a  sensation.  Octavia,  how 
ever,  who  was  far  more  looked  at,  was  en 
tirely  oblivious  of  the  painful  prominence  of 
her  position.  She  remained  standing  in  the 
middle  of  the  room,  talking  to  Lucia,  who 
had  approached  to  greet  her.  She  was  so 
much  taller  than  Lucia,  that  she  looked  very 
tall  indeed  by  contrast,  and  also  very  won 
derfully  dressed.  Lucia's  white  muslin  was 
one  of  Miss  Chickie's  fifteen,  and  was,  in  a 
"genteel"  way,  very  suggestive  of  Slow- 
bridge.  Suspended  from  Octavia's  waist  by 
a  long  loop  of  the  embroidered  ribbon,  was  a 
little  round  fan,  of  downy  pale-blue  feathers, 
and  with  this  she  played  as  she  talked ;  but 
Lucia,  having  nothing  to  play  with,  could 
only  stand  with  her  little  hands  hanging  at 
her  sides. 

"I  have  never  been  to  an  afternoon  tea 
like  this  before,"  Octavia  said.  "  It  is  noth 
ing  like  a  kettle-drum." 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  I  know  what  a  kettle 
drum  is,"  Lucia  answered.  "They  have 
them  in  London,  I  think ;  but  I  have  never 
been  to  London." 

"They   have   them   in   New   York,"   said 


ANNOUNCING   ME.   BAEOLD.  95 

Octavia;  "and  they  are  a  crowded  sort  of 
afternoon  parties,  where  ladies  go  in  carriage- 
toilet,  not  evening  dress.  People  are  rushing 
in  and  out  all  the  time." 

Lucia  glanced  around  the  room  and  smiled. 

"  That  is  very  unlike  this,"  she  remarked. 

"Well,"  said  Octavia,  "I  should  think 
that,  after  all,  this  might  be  nicer." 

Which  was  very  civil. 

Lucia  glanced  around  again  —  this  time 
rather  stealthily  —  at  Lady  Theobald.  Then 
she  glanced  back  at  Octavia. 

"  But  it  isn't,"  she  said,  in  an  undertone. 

Octavia  began  to  laugh.  They  were  on  a 
new  and  familiar  footing  from  that  moment. 

"  I  said  4  it  might,'  "  she  answered. 

She  was  not  afraid,  any  longer,  of  finding 
the  evening  stupid.  If  there  were  no  young 
men,  there  was  at  least  a  young  woman  who 
was  in  sympathy  with  her.  She  said,  — 

"  I  hope  that  I  shall  behave  myself  pretty 
well,  and  do  the  things  I  am  expected  to  do." 

"  Oh !  "  said  Lucia,  with  a  rather  alarmed 
expression,  "I  hope  so.  I  —  I  am  afraid  you 
would  not  be  comfortable  if  you  didn't." 

Octavia  opened  her  eyes,  as  she  often  did 


96  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

* 

at  Miss  Belinda's  remarks,  and  then  suddenly 
she  began  to  laugh  again. 

"What  would  they  do?"  she  said  dis 
respectfully.  "  Would  they  turn  rne  out, 
without  giving  me  any  tea  ?  " 

Lucia  looked  still  more  frightened. 

"Don't  let  them  see  you  laughing,"  she 
said.  "  They — they  will  say  you  are  giddy." 

"  Giddy  !  "  replied  Octavia.  "  I  don't 
think  there  is  any  thing  to  make  me  giddy 
here." 

"  If  they  say  you  are  giddy,"  said  Lucia, 
"your  fate  will  be  sealed;  and,  if  you  are 
to  stay  here,  it  really  will  be  better  to  try  to 
please  them  a  little." 

Octavia  reflected  a  moment. 

"I  don't  mean  to  cfo'splease  them,"  she 
said,  "  unless  they  are  very  easily  displeased. 
I  suppose  I  don't  think  very  much  about 
what  people  are  saying  of  me.  I  don't  seem 
to  notice." 

"  Will  you  come  now  and  let  me  introduce 
Miss  Egerton  and  her  sister?"  suggested 
Lucia  hurriedly.  <•"  Grandmamma  is  looking 
at  us." 

In   the   innocence   of    her   heart   Octavia 


ANNOUNCING  ME.    BAEOLD.  97 

glanced  at  Lady  Theobald,  and  saw  that  she 
was  looking  at  them,  and  with  a  disapprov 
ing  air. 

"I  wonder  what  that's  for?"  she  said  to 
herself;  but  she  followed  Lucia  across  the 
room. 

She  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Misses 
Egerton,  who  seemed  rather  fluttered,  and, 
after  the  first  exchange  of  civilities,  subsided 
into  monosyllables  and  attentive  stares. 
They  were,  indeed,  very  anxious  to  hear 
Octavia  converse,  but  had  not  the  courage  to 
attempt  to  draw  her  out,  unless  a  sudden 
query  of  Miss  Lydia's  could  be  considered 
such  an  attempt. 

"  Do  you  like  England  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Is  this  England  ?  "  inquired  Octavia. 

"It  is  a  part  of  England,  of  course,"  re 
plied  the  young  lady,  with  calm  literalness. 

"  Then,  of  course,  I  like  it  very  much," 
said  Octavia,  slightly  waving  her  fan  and 
smiling. 

Miss  Lydia  Egerton  and  Miss  Violet 
Egerton  each  regarded  her  in  dubious  silence 
for  a  moment.  They  did  not  think  she 
looked  as  if  she  were  "  clever ; "  but  the  speech 


98  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

sounded  to  both  as  if  she  were,  and  as  if  she 
meant  to  be  clever  a  little  at  their  expense. 

Naturally,  after  that  they  felt  slightly  un 
comfortable,  and  said  less  than  before  ;  and 
conversation  lagged  to  such  an  extent  that 
O  eta  via  was  not  sorry  when  tea  was  an 
nounced. 

And  it  so  happened  that  tea  was  not  the 
only  thing  announced.  The  ladies  had  all 
just  risen  from  their  seats  with  a  gentle 
rustle,  and  Lady  Theobald  was  moving  for 
ward  to  marshal  her  procession  into  the 
dining-room,  when  Dobson  appeared  at  the 
door  again. 

"Mr.  Barold,  my  lady,"  he  said,  "and 
Mr.  Burmistone." 

Everybody  glanced  first  at  the  door,  and 
then  at  Lady  Theobald.  Mr.  Francis  Barold 
crossed  the  threshold,  followed  by  the  tall, 
square-shouldered  builder  of  mills,  who  was 
a  strong,  handsome  man,  and  bore  himself 
very  well,  not  seeming  to  mind  at  all  the 
numerous  eyes  fixed  upon  him. 

"I  did  not  know,"  said  Barold,  "that  we 
should  find  you  had  guests.  Beg  pardon, 
I'm  sure,  and  so  does  Burmistone,  whom  I 


ANNOUNCING  ME.   BAEOLD.  99 

had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  at  Broadoaks, 
and  who  was  good  enough  to  invite  me  to 
return  with  him." 

Lady  Theobald  extended  her  hand  to  the 
gentleman  specified. 

"I  am  glad,"  she  said  rigidly,  "to  see 
Mr.  Burmistone." 

Then  she  turned  to  Barold. 

"  This  is  very  fortunate,"  she  announced. 
"  We  are  just  going  in  to  take  tea,  in  which 
I  hope  you  will  join  us.  Lucia  "  — 

Mr.  Francis  Barold  naturally  turned,  as 
her  ladyship  uttered  her  granddaughter's 
name  in  a  tone  of  command.  It  may  be 
supposed  that  his  first  intention  in  turning 
was  to  look  at  Lucia;  but  he  had  scarcely 
done  so,  when  his  attention  was  attracted  by 
the  figure  nearest  to  her, — the  figure  of  a 
young  lady,  who  was  playing  with  a  little 
blue  fan,  and  smiling  at  him  brilliantly  and 
unmistakably. 

The  next  moment  he  was  standing  at 
Octavia  Bassett's  side,  looking  rather  pleased, 
and  the  blood  of  Slowbridge  was  congeal 
ing,  as  the  significance  of  the  situation  was 
realized. 


100  A   FAIE  BARBAEIAN. 

One  instant  of  breathless  —  of  awful  — 
suspense,  and  her  ladyship  recovered  herself. 

"  We  will  go  in  to  tea,"  she  said.  "  May 
I  ask  you,  Mr.  Burmistone,  to  accompany 
Miss  Pilcher?" 


A   SLIGHT  INDISCRETION.  101 

CHAPTER   XL:     | ;;    •-     ;  , 

A   SLIGHT  INDISCRETION. 

DURING  the  remainder  of  the  evening, 
Miss  Belinda  was  a  prey  to  wretchedness 
and  despair.  When  she  raised  her  eyes  to 
her  hostess,  she  met  with  a  glance  full  of  icy 
significance ;  when  she  looked  across  the  tea- 
table,  she  saw  Octavia  seated  next  to  Mr. 
Francis  Barold,  monopolizing  his  attention, 
and  apparently  in  the  very  best  possible 
spirits.  It  only  made  matters  worse,  that 
Mr.  Francis  Barold  seemed  to  find  her  re 
marks  worthy  of  his  attention.  He  drank 
very  little  tea,  and  now  and  then  appeared 
much  interested  and  amused.  In  fact,  he 
found  Miss  Octavia  even  more  entertaining 
than  he  had  found  her  during  their  journey. 
She  did  not  hesitate  at  all  to  tell  him  that 
she  was  delighted  to  see  him  again  at  this 
particular  juncture. 

"  You  don't  know  how  glad  I  was  to  see 
you  come  in,"  she  said. 


102  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

She  met  his  rather  startled  glance  with  the 
most  open  candor  as  she  spoke. 
°  "Jt  is  very  civil  of  you  to  say  so,"  he 
.'said  I J-  l>iit(ybu''pai)'  hardly  expect  me  to  be 
lieve  it,  you  know.  It  is  too  good  to  be 
true." 

"I  thought  it  was  too  good  to  be  true 
when  the  door  opened,"  she  answered  cheer 
fully.  "  I  should  have  been  glad  to  see  any 
body,  almost "  — 

"Well,  that,"  he  interposed,  "isn't  quite 
so  civil." 

"  It  is  not  quite  so  civil  to  "  — 

But  there  she  checked  herself,  and  asked 
him  a  question  with  the  most  naive  serious 
ness. 

"Are  you  a  great  friend  of  Lady  Theo 
bald's  ?  "  she  said. 

"  No,"  he  answered.     "  I  am  a  relative." 

"  That's  worse,"  she  remarked. 

"  It  is,"  he  replied.     "  Very  much  worse." 

"  I  asked  you,"  she  proceeded,  with  an  en 
trancing  little  smile  of  irreverent  approval, 
"because  I  was  going  to  say  that  my  last 
speech  was  not  quite  so  civil  to  Lady  Theo 
bald." 


A   SLIGHT  INDISCRETION.  103 

"  That  is  perfectly  true,"  he  responded. 
"  It  wasn't  civil  to  her  at  all." 

He  was  passing  his  time  very  comfortably, 
and  was  really  surprised  to  feel  that  he  was 
more  interested  in  these  simple  audacities 
than  he  had  been  in  any  conversation  for 
some  time.  Perhaps  it  was  because  his  com 
panion  was  so  wonderfully  pretty,  but  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  there  were  also  other  rea 
sons.  She  looked  him  straight  in  the  eyes, 
she  comported  herself  after  the  manner  of  a 
young  lady  who  was  enjoying  herself,  and 
yet  he  felt  vaguely  that  she  might  have  en 
joyed  herself  quite  as  much  with  Burmi- 
stone,  and  that  it  was  probable  that  she 
would  not  think  a  second  time  of  him,  or  of 
what  she  said  to  him. 

After  tea,  when  they  returned  to  the  draw 
ing-room,  the  opportunities  afforded  for  con 
versation  were  not  numerous.  The  piano 
was  opened,  and  one  after  another  of  the 
young  ladies  were  invited  to  exhibit  their 
prowess.  Upon  its  musical  education  Slow- 
bridge  prided  itself.  "  Few  towns,"  Miss 
Pilcher  frequently  remarked,  "  could  be  con 
gratulated  upon  the  possession  of  such  talent 


104  A   FAIR  BABBAEIAN. 

and  such  cultivation."  The  Misses  Egerton 
played  a  duet,  the  Misses  Loftus  sang,  Miss 
Abercrombie  "  executed  "  a  sonata  with  such 
effect  as  to  melt  Miss  Pilcher  to  tears;  and 
still  Octavia  had  not  been  called  upon. 
There  might  have  been  a  reason  for  this,  or 
there  might  not ;  but  the  moment  arrived,  at 
length,  when  Lady  Theobald  moved  toward 
Miss  Belinda  with  evidently  fell  intent. 

"Perhaps,"  she  said,  "perhaps  your  niece, 
Miss  Octavia,  will  favor  us." 

Miss  Belinda  replied  in  a  deprecatory  and 
uncertain  murmur. 

"I  —  am  not  sure.  I  really  don't  know. 
Perhaps  —  Octavia,  my  dear." 

Octavia  raised  a  smiling  face. 

"I  don't  play,"  she  said.  "I  never 
learned." 

"  You  do  not  play ! "  exclaimed  Lady 
Theobald.  "  You  do  not  play  at  all !  " 

"No,"  answered  Octavia.  "Not  a  note. 
And  I  think  I  am  rather  glad  of  it ;  because, 
if  I  tried,  I  should  be  sure  to  do  it  worse  than 
other  people.  I  would  rather,"  with  unim 
paired  cheerfulness,  "  let  some  one  else  do  it." 

There  were  a  few  seconds  of  dead  silence. 


A    SLIGHT  INDISCRETION.  105 

A  dozen  people  seated  around  her  had  heard. 
Miss  Pilcher  shuddered ;  Miss  Belinda  looked 
down ;  Mr.  Francis  Barold  preserved  an  en 
tirely  unmoved  countenance,  the  general  im 
pression  being  that  he  was  very  much  shocked, 
and  concealed  his  disgust  with  an  effort. 

"  My  dear,"  said  Lady  Theobald,  with  an 
air  of  much  condescension  and  some  grave 
pity,  "  I  should  advise  you  to  try  to  learn. 
I  can  assure  you  that  you  would  find  it 
a  great  source  of  pleasure." 

"  If  you  could  assure  me  that  my  friends 
would  find  it  a  great  source  of  pleasure, 
I  might  begin,"  answered  the  mistaken 
young  person,  still  cheerfully;  ubut  I  am 
afraid  they  wouldn't." 

It  seemed  that  fate  had  marked  her  for 
disgrace.  In  half  an  hour  from  that  time 
she  capped  the  climax  of  her  indiscretions. 

The  evening  being  warm,  the  French 
windows  had  been  left  open ;  and,  in  passing 
one  of  them,  she  stopped  a  moment  to  look 
out  at  the  brightly  moonlit  grounds. 

Barold,  who  was  with  her,  paused  too. 

"Looks  rather  nice,  doesn't  it?"  he  said. 

"  Yes,  "  she  replied.  "  Suppose  we  go  out 
on  the  terrace." 


106  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

He  laughed  in  an  amused  fashion  she  did 
not  understand. 

"Suppose  we  do,"  he  said.  "By  Jove, 
that's  a  good  idea  !  " 

He  laughed  as  he  followed  her. 
"  What  amuses  you  so  ?  "  she  inquired. 
"  Oh  !  "  he  replied,  "  I  am  merely  thinking 
of  Lady  Theobald." 

"Well,  she  commented,  "I  think  it's 
rather  disrespectful  in  you  to  laugh.  Isn't  it 
a  lovely  night  ?  I  didn't  think  you  had  such 
moonlight  nights  in  England.  What  a  night 
for  a  drive  ! " 

"Is  that  one  of  the  things  you  do  in 
America  —  drive  by  moonlight  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Do  you  mean  to  say  you  don't  do 
it  in  England  ?  " 

"  Not  often.  Is  it  young  ladies  who  drive 
by  moonlight  in  America?  " 

"  Well,  you  don't  suppose  they  go  alone, 
do  you  ?  "  quite  ironically.     «  Of  course  they 
have  some  one  with  them." 
"Ah!     Their  papas?" 
"No." 

"  Their  mammas  ?  " 
"No." 


A   SLIGHT  INDISCRETION.  107 

"Their  governesses,  their  uncles,  their 
aunts  ?  " 

"  No,"  with  a  little  smile. 

He  smiled  also. 

"That  is  another  good  idea,"  he  said. 
"You  have  a  great  many  nice  ideas  in 
America." 

She  was  silent  a  moment  or  so,  swinging 
her  fan  slowly  to  and  fro  by  its  ribbon,  and 
appearing  to  reflect. 

"  Does  that  mean,"  she  said  at  length, 
"that  it  wouldn't  be  considered  proper  in 
England?" 

"  I  hope  you  won't  hold  me  responsible  for 
English  fallacies,"  was  his  sole  answer. 

"I  don't  hold  anybody  responsible  for 
them,"  she  returned  with  some  spirit.  "I 
don't  care  one  thing  about  them." 

"That  is  fortunate,"  he  commented.  "I 
am  happy  to  say  I  don't,  either.  I  take  the 
liberty  of  pleasing  myself.  I  find  it  pays 
best." 

"  Perhaps,"  she  said,  returning  to  the 
charge,  "perhaps  Lady  Theobald  will  think 
this  is  improper." 

He  put  his  hand  up,  and  stroked  his  mus 
tache  lightly,  without  replying. 


108  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  But  it  is  not"  she  added  emphatically : 
"it  is  not!" 

"No,"  he  admitted,  with  a  touch  of  irony, 
"  it  is  not  I  " 

"Are  you  any  the  worse  for  it?"  she  de 
manded. 

"Well,  really,  I  think  not  — as  yet,"  he 
replied. 

"  Then  we  won't  go  in,"  she  said,  the  smile 
returning  to  her  lips  again. 


AN  INVITATION.  109 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AN  INVITATION. 

IN  the  mean  time  Mr.  Burmistone  was 
improving  his  opportunities  within  doors. 
He  had  listened  to  the  music  with  the  most 
serious  attention ;  and  on  its  conclusion  he 
had  turned  to  Mrs.  Burnham,  and  made  him 
self  very  agreeable  indeed.  At  length,  how 
ever,  he  arose,  and  sauntered  across  the 
room  to  a  table  at  which  Lucia  Gaston 
chanced  to  be  standing  alone,  having  just 
been  deserted  by  a  young  lady  whose  mam 
ma  had  summoned  her.  She  wore,  Mr. 
Burmistone  regretted  to  see,  as  he  advanced, 
a  troubled  and  anxious  expression ;  the  truth 
being  that  she  had  a  moment  before  remarked 
the  exit  of  Miss  Belinda's  niece  and  her  com 
panion.  It  happened  oddly  that  Mr.  Bur  mi- 
stone's  first  words  touched  upon  the  subject 
of  her  thought.  He  began  quite  abruptly 
with  it. 


110  A  FAIR   BARBARIAN. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  he  said,  "  that  Miss 
Octavia  Bassett "  — 

Lucia  stopped  him  with  a  courage  which 
surprised  herself.  ' 

"  Oh,  if  you  please,"  she  implored,  "  don't 
say  any  thing  unkind  about  her  !  " 

Mr.  Burmistone  looked  down  into  her  soft 
eyes  with  a  good  deal  of  feeling. 

"  I  was  not  going  to  say  any  thing  unkind," 
he  answered.  "  Why  should  I  ?  " 

"  Everybody  seems  to  find  a  reason  for 
speaking  severely  of  her,"  Lucia  faltered. 
" 1  have  heard  so  many  unkind  things  to 
night,  that  I  am  quite  unhappy.  I  am  sure 
—  I  am  sure  she  is  very  candid  and  simple." 

"Yes,"  answered  Mr.  Burmistone,  "I  am 
sure  she  is  very  candid  and  simple." 

"  Why  should  we  expect  her  to  be  exact 
ly  like  ourselves  ?  "  Lucia  went  on.  "  How 
can  we  be  sure  that  our  way  is  better  than 
any  other  ?  Why  should  they  be  angry 
because  her  dress  is  so  expensive  and  pret 
ty  ?  Indeed,  I  only  wish  I  had  such  a  dress. 
It  is  a  thousand  times  prettier  than  any  we 
ever  wear.  Look  around  the  room,  and  see 
if  it  is  not.  And  as  to  her  not  having 


AN  INVITATION.  Ill 

learned  to  play  on  the  piano,  or  to  speak 
French  —  why  should  she  be  obliged  to  do 
things  she  feels  she  would  not  be  clever  at? 
I  am  not  clever,  and  have  been  a  sort  of 
slave  all  my  life,  and  have  been  scolded  and 
blamed  for  what  I  could  not  help  at  all,  until 
I  have  felt  as  if  I  must  be  a  criminal.  How 
happy  she  must  have  been  to  be  let  alone  ! '' 

She  had  clasped  her  little  hands,  and, 
though  she  spoke  in  a  low  voice,  was  quite 
impassioned  in  an  unconscious  way.  Her 
brief  girlish  life  had  not  been  a  very  happy 
one,  as  may  be  easily  imagined;  and  a  glimpse 
of  the  liberty  for  which  she  had  suffered 
roused  her  to  a  sense  of  her  own  wrongs. 

"We  are  all  cut  out  after  the  same  pat 
tern,"  she  said.  "We  learn  the  same  things, 
and  wear  the  same  dresses,  one  might  say. 
What  Lydia  Egerton  has  been  taught,  I 
have  been  taught;  yet  what  two  creatures 
could  be  more  unlike  each  other,  by  nature, 
than  we  are  ?  " 

Mr.  Burmistone  glanced  across  the  room 
at  Miss  Egerton.  She  was  a  fine,  robust 
young  woman,  with  a  high  nose  and  a  stolid 
expression  of  countenance. 


112  A   FAIR  BAE13AEIAN. 

"  That  is  true,"  lie  remarked. 

"  We  are  afraid  of  every  thing,"  said  Lu 
cia  bitterly.  "  Lydia  Egerton  is  afraid  — 
though  you  might  not  think  so.  And,  as  for 
me,  nobody  knows  what  a  coward  I  am  but 
myself.  Yes,  I  am  a  coward !  When  grand 
mamma  looks  at  me,  I  tremble.  I  dare  not 
speak  my  mind,  and  differ  with  her,  when  I 
know  she  is  unjust  and  in  the  wrong.  No 
one  could  say  that  of  Miss  Octavia  Bassett." 

"  That  is  perfectly  true,"  said  Mr.  Bur- 
mistone  ;  and  he  even  went  so  far  as  to  laugh 
as  he  thought  of  Miss  Octavia  trembling  in 
the  august  presence  of  Lady  Theobald. 

The  laugh  checked  Lucia  at  once  in  her 
little  outburst  of  eloquence.  She  began  to 
blush,  the  color  mounting  to  her  forehead. 

"  Oh !  "  she  began,  "  I  did  not  mean  to  — 
to  say  so  much.  I  "  — 

There  was  something  so  innocent  and 
touching  in  her  sudden  timidity  and  con 
fusion,  that  Mr.  Burmistone  forgot  alto 
gether  that  they  were  not  very  old  friends, 
and  that  Lady  Theobald  might  be  looking. 

He  bent  slightly  forward,  and  looked  into 
her  upraised,  alarmed  eyes. 


AN  INVITATION.  113 

"  Don't  be  afraid  of  me"  he  said ;  "  don't, 
for  pity's  sake  !  " 

He  could  not  have  hit  upon  a  luckier 
speech,  and  also  he  could  not  have  uttered  it 
more  feelingly  than  he  did.  It  helped  her  to 
recover  herself,  and  gave  her  courage. 

"  There,"  she  said,  with  a  slight  catch  of 
the  breath,  "  does  not  that  prove  what  I  said 
to  be  true  ?  I  was  afraid,  the  very  moment 
I  ceased  to  forget  myself.  I  was  afraid  of 
you  and  of  myself.  I  have  no  courage  at 
all." 

"  You  will  gain  it  in  time,"  he  said. 

"  I  shall  try  to  gain  it,"  she  answered.  "  I 
am  nearly  twenty,  and  it  is  time  that  I  should 
learn  to  respect  myself.  I  think  it  must  be 
because  I  have  no  self-respect  that  I  am  such 
a  coward." 

It  seemed  that  her  resolution  was  to  be 
tried  immediately ;  for  at  that  very  moment 
Lady  Theobald  turned,  and,  on  recognizing 
the  full  significance  of  Lucia's  position,  was 
apparently  struck  temporarily  dumb  and 
motionless.  When  she  recovered  from  the 
shock,  she  made  a  majestic  gesture  of  com 
mand. 


114  A   FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

Mr.  Burmistone  glanced  at  the  girl's  face, 
and  saw  that  it  changed  color  a  little.  "  Lady 
Theobald  appears  to  wish  to  speak  to  you," 
he  said. 

Lucia  left  her  seat,  and  walked  across  the 
room  with  a  steady  air.  Lady  Theobald  did 
not  remove  her  eye  from  her  until  she  stopped 
within  three  feet  of  her.  Then  she  asked  a 
rather  unnecessary  question :  — 

"  With  whom  have  you  been  conversing  ?  " 

"With  Mr.  Burmistone." 

"  Upon  what  subject? " 

"  We  were  speaking  of  Miss  Octavia  Bas- 
sett." 

Her  ladyship  glanced  around  the  room,  as 
if  a  new  idea  had  occurred  to  her,  and  said,  — 

"  Where  is  Miss  Octavia  Bassett  ?  " 

Here  it  must  be  confessed  that  Lucia  fal 
tered. 

"  She  is  on  the  terrace  with  Mr.  Barold." 

"She  is  on"  — 

Her  ladyship  stopped  short  in  the  middle 
of  her  sentence.  This  was  too  much  for  her. 
She  left  Lucia,  and  crossed  the  room  to  Miss 
Belinda. 

"Belinda,"  she  said,  in  an  awful  under- 


AN  INVITATION.  115 

tone,  "  your  niece  is  out  upon  the  terrace  with 
Mr.  Barold.  Perhaps  it  would  be  as  well 
for  you  to  intimate  to  her  that  in  England 
it  is  not  customary  —  that —  Belinda,  go 
and  bring  her  in." 

Miss  Belinda  arose,  actually  looking  pale. 
She  had  been  making  such  strenuous  efforts 
to  converse  with  Miss  Pilch er  and  Mrs. 
Burnham,  that  she  had  been  betrayed  into 
forgetting  her  charge.  She  could  scarcely 
believe  her  ears.  She  went  to  the  open  win 
dow,  and  looked  out,  and  then  turned  paler 
than  before. 

"  Octavia,  my  dear,"  she  said  faintly. 

"  Francis  !  "  said  Lady  Theobald,  over  her 
shoulder. 

Mr.  Francis  Barold  turned  a  rather  bored 
countenance  toward  them ;  but  it  was  evi 
dently  not  Octavia  who  had  bored  him. 

"  Octavia,"  said  Miss  Belinda,  "  how  im 
prudent!  In  that  thin  dress — the  night 
air!  How  could  you,  my  dear,  how  could 
you?" 

"Oh!  I  shall  not  catch  cold,"  Octavia 
answered.  "  I  am  used  to  it.  I  have  been 
out  hours  and  hours,  on  moonlight  nights,  at 
home." 


116  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

But  she  moved  toward  them. 

"  You  must  remember,"  said  Lady  Theo 
bald,  "  that  there  are  many  things  which  may 
be  done  in  America  which  would  not  be  safe 
in  England." 

And  she  made  the  remark  in  an  almost 
sepulchral  tone  of  warning. 

How  Miss  Belinda  would  have  supported 
herself  if  the  coach  had  not  been  announced 
at  this  juncture,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say. 
The  coach  was  announced,  and  they  took 
their  departure.  Mr.  Barold  happening  to 
make  his  adieus  at  the  same  time,  they  were 
escorted  by  him  down  to  the  vehicle  from 
the  Blue  Lion. 

When  he  had  assisted  them  in,  and  closed 
the  door,  Octavia  bent  forward,  so  that  the 
moonlight  fell  full  on  her  pretty,  lace- 
covered  head,  and  the  sparkling  drops  in  her 
ears. 

"  Oh !  "  she  exclaimed,  "  if  you  stay  here 
at  all,  you  must  come  and  see  us.  —  Aunt 
Belinda,  ask  him  to  come  and  see  us." 

Miss  Belinda  could  scarcely  speak. 

"  I  shall  be  most  —  most  happy,"  she  flut 
tered.  "Any  —  friend  of  dear  Lady  Theo 
bald's,  of  course"  — 


AN  INVITATION.  117 

"  Don't  forget,"  said  Octavia,  waving  her 
hand. 

The  coach  moved  off,  and  Miss  Belinda 
sank  back  into  a  dark  corner. 

"My  dear,"  she  gasped,  "what  will  he 
think?" 

Octavia  was  winding  her  lace  scarf  around 
her  throat. 

"  He'll  think  I  want  him  to  call,"  she  said 
serenely.  "  And  I  do." 


118  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

INTENTIONS. 

THE  position  in  which  Lady  Theobald 
found  herself  placed,  after  these  occurrences, 
was  certainly  a  difficult  and  unpleasant  one. 
It  was  Mr.  Francis  Barold's  caprice,  for  the 
time  being,  to  develop  an  intimacy  with  Mr. 
Burmistone.  He  had,  it  seemed,  chosen  to 
become  interested  in  him  during -their  so 
journ  at  Broadoaks.  He  had  discovered  him 
to  be  a  desirable  companion,  and  a  clever, 
amiable  fellow.  This  much  he  condescended 
to  explain  incidentally  to  her  ladyship's  self. 

"  I  can't  say  I  expected  to  meet  a  nice  fel 
low  or  a  companionable  fellow,"  he  remarked, 
"  and  I  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  him 
both.  Never  says  too  much  or  too  little. 
Never  bores  a  man." 

To  this  Lady  Theobald  could  make  no 
reply.  Singularly  enough,  she  had  discov 
ered  early  in  their  acquaintance  that  her 


INTENTIONS.  119 

wonted  weapons  were  likely  to  dull  their 
edges  upon  the  steely  coldness  of  Mr.  Fran 
cis  Barold's  impassibility.  In  the  presence 
of  this  fortunate  young  man,  before  whom 
his  world  had  bowed  the  knee  from  his  ten- 
derest  infancy,  she  lost  the  majesty  of  her 
demeanor.  He  refused  to  be  affected  by  it : 
he  was  even  implacable  enough  to  show 
openly  that  it  bored  him,  and  to  insinuate 
by  his  manner  that  he  did  not  intend  to 
submit  to  it.  He  entirely  ignored  the  claim 
of  relationship,  and  acted  according  to  the 
promptings  of  his  own  moods.  He  did  not 
feel  it  at  all  incumbent  upon  him  to  remain 
at  Oldclough  Hall,  and  subject  himself  to 
the  time-honored  customs  there  in  vogue. 
He  preferred  to  accept  Mr.  Burmistone's 
invitation  to  become  his  guest  at  the  hand 
some  house  he  had  just  completed,  in  which 
he  lived  in  bachelor  splendor.  Accordingly 
he  installed  himself  there,  and  thereby  com 
plicated  matters  greatly. 

Slowbridge  found  itself  in  a  position  as 
difficult  as,  and  far  more  delicate  than,  Lady 
Theobald's.  The  tea-driiikings  in  honor  of 
that  troublesome  young  person,  Miss  Octavia 


120  A   FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

Basse tt,  having  been  inaugurated  by  her 
ladyship,  must  go  the  social  rounds,  accord 
ing  to  ancient  custom.  But  what,  in  discre 
tion's  name,  was  to  be  done  concerning  Mr. 
Francis  Barold  ?  There  was  no  doubt  what 
ever  that  he  must  not  be  ignored;  and,  in 
that  case,  what  difficulties  presented  them 
selves  ! 

The  mamma  of  the  two  Misses  Egerton, 
who  was  a  nervous  and  easily  subjugated 
person,  was  so  excited  and  overwrought  by 
the  prospect  before  her,  that,  in  contemplating 
it  when  she  wrote  her  invitations,  she  was 
affected  to  tears. 

"I  can  assure  you,  Lydia,"  she  said,  "that 
I  have  not  slept  for  three  nights,  I  have  been 
so  harassed.  Here,  on  one  hand,  is  Mr. 
Francis  Barold,  who  must  be  invited ;  and  on 
the  other  is  Mr.  Burmistone,  whom  we  can 
not  pass  over ;  and  here  is  Lady  Theobald, 
who  will  turn  to  stone  the  moment  she  sees 
him,  —  though,  goodness  knows,  I  am  sure 
he  seems  a  very  quiet,  respectable  man,  and 
said  some  of  the  most  complimentary  things 
about  your  playing.  And  here  is  that  dread 
ful  girl,  who  is  enough  to  give  one  cold 


INTENTIONS.  121 

chills,  and  who  may  do  all  sorts  of  dreadful 
things,  and  is  certainly  a  living  example  to 
all  respectable,  well-educated  girls.  And  the 
blindest  of  the  blind  could  see  that  nothing 
would  offend  Lady  Theobald  more  fatally 
than  to  let  her  be  thrown  with  Francis  Bar- 
old  ;  and  how  one  is  to  invite  them  into  the 
same  room,  and  keep  them  apart,  I'm  sure  I 
don't  know  how.  Lady  Theobald  herself 
could  not  do  it,  and  how  can  we  be  expected 
to  ?  And  the  refreshments  on  my  mind  too ; 
and  Forbes  failing  on  her  tea-cakes,  and 
bringing  up  Sally  Lunns  like  lead." 

That  these  misgivings  were  equally  shared 
by  each  entertainer  in  prospective,  might  be 
adduced  from  the  fact  that  the  same  after 
noon  Mrs.  Burnham  and  Miss  Pilcher  ap 
peared  upon  the  scene,  to  consult  with  Mrs. 
Egerton  upon  the  subject. 

Miss  Lydia  and  Miss  Violet  being  dis 
missed  up-stairs  to  their  practising,  the  three 
ladies  sat  in  the  darkened  parlor,  and  talked 
the  matter  over  in  solemn  conclave. 

"  I  have  consulted  Miss  Pilcher,  and  men 
tioned  the  affair  to  Mrs.  Gibson,"  announced 
Mrs.  Burnham.  "  And,  really,  we  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  arrive  at  any  conclusion." 


122  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

Mrs.  Egerton  shook  her  head  tearfully. 

"  Pray  don't  come  to  me,  my  dears,"  she 
said,  —  "  don't,  I  beg  of  you !  I  have  thought 
about  it  until  my  circulation  has  all  gone 
wrong,  and  Lydia  has  been  applying  hot- 
water  bottles  to  my  feet  all  the  morning.  I 
gave  it  up  at  half-past  two,  and  set  Violet  to 
writing  invitations  to  one  and  all,  let  the 
consequences  be  what  they  may." 

Miss  Pilcher  glanced  at  Mrs.  Burnham, 
and  Mrs.  Burnham  glanced  at  Miss  Pilcher. 

"  Perhaps,"  Miss  Pilcher  suggested  to  her 
companion,  "  it  would  be  as  well  for  you  to 
mention  your  impressions." 

Mrs.  Burnham's  manner  became  addition 
ally  cautious.  She  bent  forward  slightly. 

"  My  dear,"  she  said,  "  has  it  struck  you 
that  Lady  Theobald  has  any  —  intentions,  so 
to  speak  ?  " 

"  Intentions  ?  "  repeated  Mrs.  Egerton. 

"  Yes,"  with  deep  significance,  —  "  so  to 
speak.  With  regard  to  Lucia." 

Mrs.  Egerton  looked  utterly  helpless. 

"  Dear  me  !  "  she  ejaculated  plaintively. 
"  I  have  never  had  time  to  think  of  it.  Dear 
me  !  With  regard  to  Lucia  !  " 


INTENTIONS.  123 

Mrs.  Burnham  became  more  significant 
still. 

" And"  she  added,  " Mr.  Francis  Barold." 

Mrs.  Egerton  turned  to  Miss  Pilcher,  and 
saw  confirmation  of  the  fact  in  her  counte 
nance. 

"  Dear,  dear  !  "  she  said.  "  That  makes  it 
worse  than  ever." 

"It  is  certain,"  put  in  Miss  Pilcher,  "that 
the  union  would  be  a  desirable  one ;  and  we 
have  reason  to  remark  that  a  deep  interest 
in  Mr.  Francis  Barold  has  been  shown  by 
Lady  Theobald.  He  has  been  invited  to 
make  her  house  his  home  during  his  stay  in 
Slowbridge  ;  and,  though  he  has  not  done  so, 
the  fact  that  he  has  not  is  due  only  to  some 
inexplicable  reluctance  upon  his  own  part. 
And  we  all  remember  that  Lady  Theobald 
once  plainly  intimated  that  she  anticipated 
Lucia  forming,  in  the  future,  a  matrimonial 
alliance." 

"  Oh !  "  commented  Mrs.  Egerton,  with 
some  slight  impatience,  "  it  is  all  very  well 
for  Lady  Theobald  to  have  intentions  for 
Lucia;  but,  if  the  young  man  has  none,  I 
really  don't  see  that  her  intentions  will  be 


124  A   FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

likely  to  result  in  any  thing  particular.  And 
I  am  sure  Mr.  Francis  Bar  old  is  not  in  the 
mood  to  be  influenced  in  that  way  now.  He 
is  more  likely  to  entertain  himself  with  Miss 
Octavia  Bassett,  who  will  take  him  out  in 
the  moonlight,  and  make  herself  agreeable  to 
him  in  her  American  style." 

Miss  Pilcher  and  Mrs.  Burnham  exchanged 
glances  again. 

"  My  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Burnham,  "  he  has 
called  upon  her  twice  since  Lady  Theobald's 
tea.  They  say  she  invites  him  herself,  and 
flirts  with  him  openly  in  the  garden." 

"  Her  conduct  is  such,"  said  Miss  Pilcher, 
with  a  shudder,  "that  the  blinds  upon  the 
side  of  the  seminary  which  faces  Miss  Bas- 
sett's  garden  are  kept  closed  by  my  orders. 
I  have  young  ladies  under  my  care  whose 
characters  are  in  process  of  formation,  and 
whose  parents  repose  confidence  in  me." 

"Nothing  but  my  friendship  for  Belinda 
Bassett,"  remarked  Mrs  Burnham,  "would 
induce  me  to  invite  the  girl  to  my  house." 
Then  she  turned  to  Mrs.  Egerton.  "  But  — 
ahem  —  have  you  included  them  all  in  your 
invitations  ?  "  she  observed. 


INTENTIONS.  125 

Mrs.  Egerton  became  plaintive  again. 

"I  don't  see  how  I  could  be  expected  to 
do  anything  else,"  she  said.  "Lady  Theo 
bald  herself  could  not  invite  Mr.  Francis 
Barold  from  Mr.  Burmistone's  house,  and 
leave  Mr.  Burmistone  at  home.  And,  after 
all,  I  must  say  it  is  my  opinion  nobody  would 
have  objected  to  Mr.  Burmistone,  in  the  first 
place,  if  Lady  Theobald  had  not  insisted 
upon  it." 

Mrs.  Burnham  reflected. 

"  Perhaps  that  is  true,"  she  admitted  cau 
tiously  at  length.  "And  it  must  be  con 
fessed  that  a  man  in  his  position  is  not 
entirely  without  his  advantages  —  particu 
larly  in  a  place  where  there  are  but  few 
gentlemen,  and  those  scarcely  desirable 
as"—  . 

She  paused  there  discreetly,  but  Mrs. 
Egerton  was  not  so  discreet. 

"  There  are  a  great  many  young  ladies  in 
Slowbridge,"  she  said,  shaking  her  head,  — 
"a  great  many!  And  with  five  in  a  family, 
all  old  enough  to  be  out  of  school,  I  am  sure 
it  is  flying  in  the  face  of  Providence  to  neg 
lect  one's  opportunities." 


126  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

When  the  two  ladies  took  their  departure, 
Mrs.  Burnham  seemed  reflective.  Finally 
she  said,  — 

"Poor  Mrs.  Egerton's  mind  is  not  what 
it  was,  and  it  never  was  remarkably  strong. 
It  must  be  admitted,  too,  that  there  is  a  lack 
of — of  delicacy.  Those  great  plain  girls  of 
hers  must  be  a  trial  to  her." 

As  she  spoke  they  were  passing  the  privet 
hedge  which  surrounded  Miss  Bassett's  house 
and  garden;  and  a  sound  caused  both  to 
glance  around.  The  front  door  had  just 
been  opened ;  and  a  gentleman  was  descend 
ing  the  steps,  —  a  young  gentleman  in  neat 
clerical  garb,  his  guileless  ecclesiastical  coun 
tenance  suffused  with  mantling  blushes  of 
confusion  and  delight.  He  stopped  on  the 
gravel  path  to  receive  the  last  words  of  Miss 
Octavia  Bassett,  who  stood  on  the  threshold, 
smiling  down  upon  him  in  the  prettiest  way 
in  the  world. 

"  Tuesday  afternoon,"  she  said.  "  Now 
don't  forget ;  because  I  shall  ask  Mr.  Barold 
and  Miss  Gaston,  on  purpose  to  play  against 
us.  Even  St.  James  can't  object  to  croquet." 

"I  —  indeed,  I   shall   be   most  happy  and 


INTENTIONS.  127 

—  and  delighted,"  stammered  her  departing 
guest,  "  if  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  —  to 
instruct  me,  and  forgive  my  awkwardness." 

"Oh!  I'll  instruct  you,"  said  Octavia. 
"  I  have  instructed  people  before,  and  I  know 
how." 

Mrs.  Burnham  clutched  Miss  Pilcher's  arm. 

"  Do  you  see  who  that  is  ?  "  she  demanded. 
"  Would  you  have  believed  it  ?  " 

Miss  Pilcher  preserved  a  stony  demeanor. 

"  I  would  believe  any  thing  of  Miss  Octa 
via  Bassett,"  she  replied.  "  There  would  be 
nothing  at  all  remarkable,  to  my  mind,  in 
her  flirting  with  the  bishop  himself !  Why 
should  she  hesitate  to  endeavor  to  entangle 
the  curate  of  St.  James  ?  " 


128  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN, 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

A   CLERICAL   VISIT. 

IT  was  indeed  true  that  the  Rev.  Arthur 
Poppleton  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
afternoon  in  Miss  Belinda  Bassett's  front 
parlor,  and  that  Octavia  had  entertained  him 
in  such  a  manner  that  he  had  been  beguiled 
into  forgetting  the  clerical  visits  he  had  in 
tended  to  make,  and  had  finally  committed 
himself  by  a  promise  to  return  a  day  or  two 
later  to  play  croquet.  His  object  in  calling 
had  been  to  request  Miss  Belinda's  assistance 
in  a  parochial  matter.  His  natural  tiniorous- 
ness  of  nature  had  indeed  led  him  to  put  off 
making  the  visit  for  as  long  a  time  as  possible. 
The  reports  he  had  heard  of  Miss  Octavia 
Bassett  had  inspired  him  with  great  dread. 
Consequently  he  had  presented  himself  at 
Miss  Belinda's  front  door  with  secret  an 
guish. 

"  Will  you  say,"  he  had  faltered  to  Mary 


A   CLERICAL    VISIT.  129 

Anne,  "  that  it  is  Mr.  Poppleton,  to  see  Miss 
Bassett  —  Miss  Belinda  Bassett  ?  " 

And  then  he  had  been  handed  into  the 
parlor,  the  door  had  been  closed  behind  him, 
and  he  had  found  himself  shut  up  entirely 
alone  in  the  room  with  Miss  Octavia  Bassett 
herself. 

His  first  impulse  was  to  turn,  and  flee 
precipitately:  indeed,  he  even  went  so  far 
as  to  turn,  and  clutch  the  handle  of  the  door ; 
but  somehow  a  second  thought  arrived  in 
time  to  lead  him  to  control  himself. 

This  second  thought  came  with  his  second 
glance  at  Octavia. 

She  was  not  at  all  what  he  had  pictured 
her.  Singularly  enough,  no  one  had  told 
him  that  she  was  pretty ;  and  he  had  thought 
of  her  as  a  gaunt  young  person,  with  a  deter 
mined  and  manly  air.  She  struck  him,  on 
the  contrary,  as  being  extremely  girlish  and 
charming  to  look  upon.  She  wore  the  pale 
pink  gown;  and  as  he  entered  he  saw  her 
give  a  furtive  little  dab  to  her  eyes  with  a 
lace  handkerchief,  and  hurriedly  crush  an 
open  letter  into  her  pocket.  Then,  seeming 
to  dismiss  her  emotion  with  enviable  facility, 
she  rose  to  greet  him. 


130  A   FAIR   BARBARIAN. 

"If  you  want  to  see  aunt  Belinda,"  she 
said,  "perhaps  you  had  better  sit  down.  She 
will  be  here  directly." 

He  plucked  up  spirit  to  take  a  seat,  sud 
denly  feeling  his  terror  take  wing.  He  was 
amazed  at  his  own  courage. 

"Th-thank  you,"  he  said.  "I  have  the 
pleasure  of"  —  There,  it  is  true,  he  stopped, 
looked  at  her,  blushed,  and  finished  somewhat 
disjointedly.  "Miss  Octavia  Bassett,  I  be 
lieve." 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  and  sat  down  near 
him. 

When  Miss  Belinda  descended  the  stairs, 
a  short  time  afterward,  her  ears  were  greeted 
by  the  sound  of  brisk  conversation,  in  which 
the  Rev.  Arthur  Poppleton  appeared  to  be 
taking  part  with  before-unheard-of  spirit. 
When  he  arose  at  her  entrance,  there  was  in 
his  manner  an  air  of  mild  buoyancy  which 
astonished  her  beyond  measure.  When  he 
re-seated  himself,  he  seemed  quite  to  forget 
the  object  of  his  visit  for  some  minutes,  and 
was  thus  placed  in  the  embarrassing  position 
of  having  to  refer  to  his  note-book. 

Having  done  so,  and  found  that  he   had 


A   CLERICAL    VISIT.  131 

called  to  ask  assistance  for  the  family  of  one 
of  his  parishioners,  he  recovered  himself 
somewhat.  As  he  explained  the  exigencies 
of  the  case,  Octavia  listened. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  should  think  it  would 
make  you  quite  uncomfortable,  if  you  see 
things  like  that  often." 

"  I  regret  to  say  I  do  see  such  things  only 
too  frequently,"  he  answered. 

"  Gracious  I  "  she  said  ;  but  that  was  all. 

He  was  conscious  of  being  slightly  disap 
pointed  at  her  apathy ;  and  perhaps  it  is  to 
be  deplored  that  he  forgot  it  afterward,  when 
Miss  Belinda  had  bestowed  her  mite,  and  the 
case  was  dismissed  for  the  time  being.  He 
really  did  forget  it,  and  was  beguiled  into 
making  a  very  long  call,  and  enjoying  himself 
as  he  had  never  enjoyed  himself  before. 

When,  at  length,  he  was  recalled  to  a 
sense  of  duty  by  a  glance  at  the  clock,  he 
had  already  before  his  eyes  an  opening  vista 
of  delights,  taking  the  form  of  future  calls, 
and  games  of  croquet  played  upon  Miss 
Belinda's  neatly-shaven  grass-plat.  He  had 
bidden  the  ladies  adieu  in  the  parlor,  and, 
having  stepped  into  the  hall,  was  fumbling 


182  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

rather  excitedly  in  the  umbrella-stand  for  his 
own  especially  slender  clerical  umbrella, 
when  he  was  awakened  to  new  rapture  by 
hearing  Miss  Octavia's  tone  again. 

He  turned,  and  saw  her  standing  quite 
near  him,  looking  at  him  with  rather  an  odd 
expression,  and  holding  something  in  her 
hand. 

"  Oh  !  "  she  said.  "  See  here,  —  those 
people." 

"I  —  beg  pardon,"  he  hesitated.  " I  don't 
quite  understand." 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  she  answered.  "  Those  des 
perately  poor  wretches,  you  know,  with 
fever,  and  leaks  in  their  house,  and  all  sorts 
of  disagreeable  things  the  matter  with  them. 
Give  them  this,  won't  you  ?  " 

"  This "  was  a  pretty  silk  purse,  through 
whose  meshes  he  saw  the  gleam  of  gold  coin. 

"That?"  he  said.  "You  don't  mean — 
isn't  there  a  good  deal  —  I  beg  pardon  —  but 
really"  — 

"  Well,  if  they  are  as  poor  as  you  say  they 
are,  it  Won't  be  too  much,"  she  replied.  "  I 
don't  suppose  they'll  object  to  it :  do  you  ?  " 

She  extended  it  to  him  as  if  she  rather 
wished  to  get  it  out  of  her  hands. 


A   CLEEICAL    VISIT.  133 

"  You'd  better  take  it,"  she  said.  "  I  shall 
spend  it  on  something  I  don't  need,  if  you 
don't.  I'm  always  spending  money  on  things 
I  don't  care  for  afterward." 

He  was  filled  with  remorse,^  remembering 
that  he  had  thought  her  apathetic. 

"I  —  I  really  thought  you  were  not  inter 
ested  at  all,"  he  burst  forth.  "  Pray  forgive 
me.  This  is  generous  indeed." 

She  looked  down  at  some  particularly  bril 
liant  rings  on  her  hand,  instead  of  looking  at 
him. 

"  Oh,  well!  "  she  said,  "I  think  it  must  be 
simply  horrid  to  have  to  do  without  things. 
I  can't  see  how  people  live.  Besides,  I 
haven't  denied  myself  any  thing.  It  would 
be  worth  talking  about  if  I  had,  I  suppose. 
Oh !  by  the  by,  never  mind  telling  any  one, 
will  you?" 

Then,  without  giving  him  time  to  reply, 
she  raised  her  eyes  to  his  face,  and  plunged 
into  the  subject  of  the  croquet  again,  pur 
suing  it  until  the  final  moment  of  his  exit 
and  departure,  which  was  when  Mrs.  Burn- 
ham  and  Miss  Pilcher  had  been'  scandalized 
at  the  easy  freedom  of  her  adieus. 


134  A   FA  IE  BARBA1UAN. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SUPERIOR   ADVANTAGES. 

WHEN  Mr.  Francis  Barold  called  to  pay 
his  respects  to  Lady  TVobald,  after  partak 
ing  of  her  hospitality,  Mr.  Burmistone  ac 
companied  him :  and,  upon  almost  every  other 
occasion  of  his  presenting  himself  to  her  lady 
ship,  Mr.  Burmistone  was  his  companion. 

It  may  as  well  be  explained  at  the  outset, 
that  the  mill-owner  of  Burmistone  Mills  was 
a  man  of  decided  determination  of  character, 
and  that,  upon  the  evening  of  Lady  Theo 
bald's  tea,  he  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  he  would  spare  no  effort  to  gain  a  cer 
tain  end  he  felt  it  would  add  to  his  happi 
ness  to  accomplish. 

"  I  stand  rather  in  awe  of  Lady  Theobald, 
as  any  ordinary  man  would,"  he  had  said  dry 
ly  to  Barold,  on  their  return  to  his  house. 
"But  my  awe  of  her  is  not  so  great  yet  that 
I  shall  allow  it  to  interfere  with  any  of  my 
plans." 


SUPERIOR  ADVANTAGES.  135 

^  Have  you  any  especial  plan  ?  "  inquired 
Barold  carelessly,  after  a  pause. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Mr.  Burmistone,  —  "  sev 
eral.  I  should  like  to  go  to  Oldclough  rather 
often." 

"  I  feel  it  the  civil  thing  to  go  to  Oldclough 
oftener  than  I  like.  Go  with  me." 

" 1  should  like  to  be  included  in  all  the 
invitations  to  tea  for  the  next  six  months." 

"  I  shall  be  included  in  all  the  invitations 
so  long  as  I  remain  here  ;  and  it  is  not  likely 
you  will  be  left  out  in  the  cold.  After  you 
have  gone  the  rounds  once,  you  won't  be 
dropped." 

"  Upon  the  whole,  it  appears  so,"  said  Mr. 
Burmistone.  "  Thanks." 

So,  at  each  of  the  tea-parties  following 
Lady  Theobald's,  the  two  men  appeared  to 
gether.  The  small  end  of  the  wedge  being 
inserted  into  the  social  stratum,  the  rest  was 
not  so  difficult.  Mrs.  Burnham  was  at  once 
surprised  and  overjoyed  by  her  discoveries  of 
the  many  excellences  of  the  man  they  had  so 
hastily  determined  to  ignore.  Mrs.  Aber- 
crombie  found  Mr.  Burmistone's  manner  all 
that  could  be  desired.  Miss  Pilcher  ex- 


136  A   FAIR   BAEBAEIAN, 

pressed  the  highest  appreciation  of  his  views 
upon  feminine  education  and  "our  duty  to 
the  young  in  our  charge."  Indeed,  after 
Mrs.  Egerton's  evening,  the  tide  of  public 
opinion  turned  suddenly  in  his  favor. 

Public  opinion  did  not  change,  however, 
as  far  as  Octavia  was  concerned.  Having 
had  her  anxiety  set  at  rest  by  several 
encouraging  paternal  letters  from  Nevada, 
she  began  to  make  up  her  mind  to  enjoy 
herself,  and  was,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  be 
trayed  by  her  youthful  high  spirits  into 
the  committing  of  numerous  indiscretions. 
Upon  each  festal  occasion  she  appeared  in 
a  new  and  elaborate  costume :  she  accepted 
the  attentions  of  Mr.  Francis  Barold,  as  if 
it  were  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world 
that  they  should  be  offered ;  she  joked  — 
in  what  Mrs.  Burnham  designated  "her 
Nevada  way" — with  the  Rev.  Arthur  Pop- 
pleton,  who  appeared  more  frequently  than 
had  been  his  habit  at  the  high  teas.  She 
played  croquet  with  that  gentleman  and 
Mr.  Barold  day  after  day,  upon  the  grass- 
plat,  before  all  the  eyes  gazing  down  upon 
her  from  the  neighboring  windows ;  she 


SUPERIOR  ADVANTAGES.  137 

managed  to  coerce  Mr.  Burmistone  into 
joining  these  innocent  orgies ;  and,  in  fact, 
to  quote  Miss  Pilcher,  there  was  "no  limit 
to  the  shamelessness  of  her  unfeminine  con 
duct." 

Several  times  much  comment  had  been 
aroused  by  the  fact  that  Lucia  Gaston  had 
been  observed  to  form  one  of  the  party  of 
players.  She  had  indeed  played  with  Barold, 
against  Octavia  and  Mr.  Poppleton,  on  the 
memorable  day  upon  which  that  gentleman 
had  taken  his  first  lesson. 

Barold  had  availed  himself  of  the  invita 
tion  extended  to  him  by  Octavia,  upon 
several  occasions,  greatly  to  Miss  Belinda's 
embarrassment.  He  had  dropped  in  the 
evening  after  the  curate's  first  call. 

"Is  Lady  Theobald  very  fond  of  you?" 
Octavia  had  asked,  in  the  course  of  this 
visit. 

"It  is  very  kind  of  her,  if  she  is,"  he 
replied  with  languid  irony. 

"  Isn't  she  fond  enough  of  you  to  do  any 
thing  you  ask  her  ? "  Octavia  inquired. 

"  Really,  I  think  not,"  he  replied.  "  Im 
agine  the  degree  of  affection  it  requires !  I 


138  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

am  not  fond  enough  of  any  one  to  do  any 
thing  they  ask  me." 

Octavia  bestowed  a  long  look  upon  him. 

"  Well,"  she  remarked,  after  a  pause,  "  I 
believe  you  are  not.  I  shouldn't  think  so." 

Bar  old  colored  very  faintly. 

"  I  say,"  he  said,  "  is  that  an  imputation, 
or  something  of  that  character?  It  sounds 
like  it,  you  know." 

Octavia  did  not  reply  directly.  She 
laughed  a  little. 

"  I  want  you  to  ask  Lady  Theobald  to  do 
something,"  she  said. 

"I  am  afraid  I  am  not  in  such  favor  as 
you  imagine,"  he  said,  looking  slightly  an 
noyed. 

"  Well,  I  think  she  won't  refuse  you  this 
thing,"  she  went  on.  "  If  she  didn't  loathe 
me  so,  I  would  ask  her  myself." 

He  deigned  to  smile. 

"  Does  she  loathe  you  ?  "  he  inquired. 

uYes,"  nodding.  "She  would  not  speak 
to  me  if  it  weren't  for  aunt  Belinda.  She 
thinks  I  am  fast  and  loud.  Do  you  think  I 
am  fast  and  loud?" 

He  was  taken  aback,  and  not  for  the  first 


SUPERIOR  ADVANTAGES.  139 

time,  either.  She  had  startled  and  discom 
posed  him  several  times  in  the  course  of  their 
brief  acquaintance ;  and  he  always  resented 
it,  priding  himself  in  private,  as  he  did,  upon 
his  coolness  and  immobility.  He  could  not 
think  of  the  right  thing  to  say  just  now,  so 
he  was  silent  for  a  second. 

"  Tell  me  the  truth,"  she  persisted.  "  I 
shall  not  care  —  much." 

"I  do  not  think  you  would  care  at  all." 

"  Well,  perhaps  I  shouldn't.  Go  on.  Do 
you  think  I  am  fast  ?  " 

"I  am  happy  to  say  I  do  not  find  you 
slow." 

She  fixed  her  eyes  on  him,  smiling  faintly. 

"  That  means  I  am  fast,"  she  said.  "  Well, 
no  matter.  Will  you  ask  Lady  Theobald 
what  I  want  you  to  ask  her  ?  " 

"I  should  not  say  you  were  fast  at  all," 
he  said  rather  stiffly.  "  You  have  not  been 
educated  as  —  as  Lady  Theobald  has  edu 
cated  Miss  Gaston,  for  instance." 

"  I  should  rather  think  not,"  she  replied. 
Then  she  added,  very  deliberately,  "She 
has  had  what  you  might  call  very  superior 
advantages,  I  suppose." 


140  A  FAIE  BAEEAEIAN. 

Her  expression  was  totally  incomprehen 
sible  to  him.  She  spoke  with  the  iitmost 
seriousness,  and  looked  down  at  the  table. 

"  That  is  derision,  I  suppose,"  he  remarked 
restively. 

She  glanced  up  again. 

ki  At  all  events,"  she  said,  "  there  is  noth 
ing  to  laugh  at  in  Lucia  Gaston.  Will  you 
ask  Lady  Theobald  ?  I  want  you  to  ask  her 
to  let  Lucia  Gaston  come  and  play  croquet 
with  us  on  Tuesday.  She  is  to  play  with 
you  against  Mr.  Poppleton  and  me." 

"  Who  is  Mr.  Poppleton  ?  "  he  asked,  with 
some  reserve.  He  did  not  exactly  fancy 
sharing  his  entertainment  with  any  ordinary 
outsider.  After  all,  there  was  no  knowing 
what  this  little  American  might  do. 

"  He  is  the  curate  of  the  church,"  she 
replied,  undisturbed.  "  He  is  very  nice,  and 
little,  and  neat,  and  blushes  all  over  to  the 
toes  of  his  boots.  He  came  to  see  aunt 
Belinda,  and  I  asked  him  to  come  and  be 
taught  to  play." 

"  Who  is  to  teach  him?  " 

"I  am.  I  have  taught  at  least  twenty 
men  in  New  York  and  San  Francisco." 


SUPERIOR  ADVANTAGES.  141 

"  I  hope  he  appreciates  your  kindness." 

"  I  mean  to  try  if  I  can  make  him  forget 
to  be  frightened,"  she  said,  with  a  gay 
laugh. 

It  was  certainly  nettling  to  find  his  air  of 
reserve  and  displeasure  met  with  such  incon 
sequent  lightness.  She  never  seemed  to  rec 
ognize  the  subtle  changes  of  temperature 
expressed  in  his  manner.  Only  his  sense  of 
what  was  due  to  himself  prevented  his  being 
very  chilly  indeed  ;  but  as  she  went  on  with 
her  gay  chat,  in  utter  ignorance  of  his  mood, 
and  indulged  in  some  very  pretty  airy  non 
sense,  he  soon  recovered  himself,  and  almost 
forgot  his  private  grievance. 

Before  going  away,  he  promised  to  ask 
Lady  Theobald's  indulgence  in  the  matter 
of  Lucia's  joining  them  in  their  game.  One 
speech  of  Octavia's,  connected  with  the  sub 
ject,  he  had  thought  very  pretty,  as  well  as 
kind. 

"I  like  Miss  Gaston,"  she  said.  "  I  think 
we  might  be  friends  if  Lady  Theobald  would 
let  us.  Her  superior  advantages  might  do 
me  good.  They  might  improve  me,"  she 
went  on,  with  a  little  laugh,  "  and  I  suppose 


142  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

I  need  improving  very  much.  All  my  ad 
vantages  have  been  of  one  kind." 

When  he  had  left  her,  she  startled  Miss 
Belinda  by  saying,  — 

"I  have  been  asking  Mr.  Barold  if  he 
thought  I  was  fast ;  and  I  believe  he  does  — 
in  fact,  I  am  sure  he  does." 

"  Ah,  my  dear,  my  dear ! "  ejaculated  Miss 
Belinda,  "  what  a  terrible  thing  to  say  to  a 
gentleman!  What  will  he  think?" 

Octavia  smiled  one  of  her  calmest  smiles. 

"  Isn't  it  queer  how  often  you  say  that !  " 
she  remarked.  "  I  think  I  should  perish  if  I 
had  to  pull  myself  up  that  way  as  you  do. 
I  just  go  right  on,  and  never  worry.  I  don't 
mean  to  do  any  thing  queer,  and  I  don't  see 
why  any  one  should  think  I  do." 


CROQUET.  143 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CROQUET. 

LFCIA  was  permitted  to  form  one  of  the 
players  in  the  game  of  croquet,  being  es 
corted  to  and  from  the  scene  by  Francis 
Barold.  Perhaps  it  occurred  to  Lady  Theo 
bald  that  the  contrast  of  English  reserve 
and  maidenliness  with  the  free-and-easy 
manners  of  young  women  from  Nevada 
might  lead  to  some  good  result. 

"I  trust  your  conduct  will  be  such  as 
to  show  that  you  at  least  have  resided  in 
a  civilized  land,"  she  said.  "The  men  of 
the  present  day  may  permit  themselves  to  be 
amused  by  young  persons  whose  demeanor 
might  bring  a  blush  to  the  cheek  of  a  woman 
of  forty,  but  it  is  not  their  habit  to  regard 
them  with  serious  intentions." 

Lucia  reddened.  She  did  not  speak, 
though  she  wished  very  much  for  the  cour 
age  to  utter  the  words  which  rose  to  her 


144  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

lips.  Lately  she  had  found  that  now  and 
then,  at  times  when  she  was  roused  to  anger, 
speeches  of  quite  a  clever  and  sarcastic 
nature  presented  themselves  to  her  mind. 
She  was  never  equal  to  uttering  them  aloud; 
but  she  felt  that  in  time  she  might,  because 
of  course  it  was  quite  an  advance  in  spirit 
to  think  them,  and  face,  even  in  imagina 
tion,  the  probability  of  astounding  and 
striking  Lady  Theobald  dumb  with  their 
audacity. 

"  It  ought  to  make  me  behave  very  well," 
she  was  saying  now  to  herself,  "  to  have  be 
fore  me  the  alternative  of  not  being  regarded 
with  serious  intentions.  I  wonder  if  it  is 
Mr.  Poppleton  or  Francis  Barold  who  might 
not  regard  me  seriously.  And  I  wonder  if 
they  are  any  coarser  in  America  than  we 
can  be  in  England  when  we  try." 

She  enjoyed  the  afternoon  very  much, 
particularly  the  latter  part  of  it,  when  Mr. 
Burmistone,  who  was  passing,  came  in,  being 
invited  by  Octavia  across  the  privet  hedge. 
Having  paid  his  respects  to  Miss  Belinda, 
who  sat  playing  propriety  under  a  laburnum- 
tree,  Mr.  Burmistone  crossed  the  grass-plat 


CROQUET.  145 

to  Lucia  herself.  She  was  awaiting  her 
"  turn,"  and  laughing  at  the  ardent  enthusi 
asm  of  Mr.  Poppleton,  who,  under  Octavia's 
direction,  was  devoting  all  his  energies  to 
the  game :  her  eyes  were  bright,  and  she  had 
lost,  for  the  time  being,  her  timid  air  of  feel 
ing  herself  somehow  in  the  wrong. 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you  here,"  said  Mr. 
Burmistone. 

"I  am  glad  to  be  here,"  she  answered. 
"  It  has  been  such  a  happy  afternoon. 
Every  thing  has  seemed  so  bright  and  —  and 
different  I " 

" '  Different '  is  a  very  good  word,"  he 
said,  laughing. 

"  It  isn't  a  very  bad  one,"  she  returned, 
"  and  it  expresses  a  good  deal." 

"  It  does  indeed,"  he  commented. 

"Look  at  Mr.  Poppleton  and  Octavia," 
she  began. 

"Have  you  got  to  'Octavia'?"  he  in 
quired. 

She  looked  down  and  blushed. 

"  I  shall  not  say  '  Octavia '  to  grand 
mamma." 

Then  suddenly  she  glanced  up  at  him. 


146  A   FAIR   BARBARIAN. 

^  That  is  sly,  isn't  it?  "  she  said.  "  Some 
times  I  think  I  am  very  sly,  though  I  am 
sure  it  is  not  my  nature  to  be  so.  I  would 
rather  be  open  and  candid." 

"  It  would  be  better,"  he  remarked. 

"  You  think  so  ?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 

He  could  not  help  smiling. 

"  Do  you  ever  tell  untruths  to  Lady  Theo 
bald  ?  "  he  inquired.  "  If  you  do,  I  shall 
begin  to  be  alarmed." 

"I  act  them,"  she  said,  blushing  more 
deeply.  "I  really  do  —  paltry  sorts  of  un 
truths,  you  know ;  pretending  to  agree  with 
her  when  I  don't ;  pretending  to  like  things 
a  little  when  I  hate  them.  I  have  been  try 
ing  to  improve  myself  lately,  and  once  or 
twice  it  has  made  her  very  angry.  She  says 
I  am  disobedient  and  disrespectful.  She 
asked  me,  one  day,  if  it  was  my  intention  to 
emulate  Miss  Octavia  Bassett.  That  was 
when  I  said  I  could  not  help  feeling  that  I 
had  wasted  time  in  practising." 

She  sighed  softly  as  she  ended. 

In  the  mean  time  Octavia  had  Mr.  Pop 
ple  ton  and  Mr.  Francis  Barold  upon  her 
hands,  and  was  endeavoring  to  do  her  duty 


CROQUET.  147 

as  hostess  by  both  of  them.  If  it  had  been 
her  intention  to  captivate  these  gentlemen, 
she  could  not  have  complained  that  Mr. 
Poppleton  was  wary  or  difficult  game.  His 
first  fears  allayed,  his  downward  path  was 
smooth,  and  rapid  in  proportion.  When  he 
had  taken  his  departure  with  the  little  silk 
purse  in  his  keeping,  he  had  carried  under 
his  clerical  vest  a  warmed  and  thrilled  heart. 
It  was  a  heart  which,  it  must  be  confessed, 
was  of  the  most  inexperienced  and  suscep 
tible  nature.  A  little  man  of  affectionate 
and  gentle  disposition,  he  had  been  given 
from  his  earliest  youth  to  indulging  in  timid 
dreams  of  mild  future  bliss,  —  of  bliss  rep 
resented  by  some  lovely  being  whose  ideals 
were  similar  to  his  own,  and  who  preferred 
the  wealth  of  a  true  affection  to  the  glitter 
of  the  giddy  throng.  Upon  one  or  two  occa 
sions,  he  had  even  worshipped  from  afar ; 
but  as  on  each  of  these  occasions  his  hopes 
had  been  nipped  in  the  bud  by  the  union  of 
their  object  with  some  hollow  worldling,  his 
dream  had,  so  far,  never  attained  very  serious 
proportions.  Since  he  had  taken  up  his 
abode  in  Slowbridge,  he  had  felt  himself  a 


148  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

little  overpowered  by  circumstances.  It  had 
been  a  source  of  painful  embarrassment  to 
him,  to  find  his  innocent  presence  capable  of 
producing  confusion  in  the  breasts  of  }roung 
ladies  who  were  certainly  not  more  guileless 
than  himself.  He  had  been  conscious  that 
the  Misses  Egerton  did  not  continue  their 
conversation  with  freedom  when  he  chanced 
to  approach  the  group  they  graced ;  and  he 
had  observed  the  same  thing  in  their  com 
panions, —  an  additional  circumspection  of 
demeanor,  so  to  speak,  a  touch  of  new  deco 
rum,  whose  object  seemed  to  be  to  protect 
them  from  any  appearance  of  imprudence. 

"It  is  almost  as  if  they  were  afraid  of 
me,"  he  had  said  to  himself  once  or  twice. 
"  Dear  me !  I  hope  there  is  nothing  in  my 
appearance  to  lead  them  to  "  — 

He  was  so  much  alarmed  by  this  dreadful 
thought,  that  he  had  ever  afterward  ap 
proached  any  of  these  young  ladies  with  a 
fear  and  trembling  which  had  not  added 
either  to  his  comfort  or  their  own ;  conse 
quently  his  path  had  not  been  a  very  smooth 
one. 

"I    respect    the    young    ladies   of    Slow- 


CEoquET.  149 

bridge,"  he  remarked  to  Octavia  that  very 
afternoon.  "  There  are  some  very  remarka 
ble  young  ladies  here,  —  very  remarkable 
indeed.  They  are  interested  in  the  church, 
and  the  poor,  and  the  schools,  and,  indeed, 
in  every  thing,  which,  is  most  unselfish  and 
amiable.  Young  ladies  have  usually  so  much 
to  distract  their  attention  from  such  matters." 

"If  I  stay  long  enough  in  Slowbridge," 
said  Octavia,  "  I  shall  be  interested  in  the 
church,  and  the  poor,  and  the  schools." 

It  seemed  to  the  curate  that  there  had 
never  been  any  thing  so  delightful  in  the 
world  as  her  laugh  and  her  unusual  remarks. 
She  seemed  to  him  so  beautiful,  and  so  ex 
hilarating,  that  he  forgot  all  else  but  his 
admiration  for  her.  He  enjoyed  himself  so 
much  this  afternoon,  that  he  was  almost 
brilliant,  and  excited  the  sarcastic  comment 
of  Mr.  Francis  Barold,  who  was  not  enjoy 
ing  himself  at  all. 

"  Confound  it ! "  said  that  gentleman  to 
himself,  as  he  looked  on.  "What  did  I 
come  here  for?  This  style  of  thing  is  just 
what  I  might  have  expected.  She  is  amus 
ing  herself  with  that  poor  little  cad  now, 


150  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

and  I  am  left  in  the  cold.  I  suppose  that  is 
her  habit  with  the  young  men  in  Nevada." 

He  had  110  intention  of  entering  the  lists 
with  the  Rev.  Arthur  Poppleton,  or  of  con 
cealing  the  fact  that  he  felt  that  this  little 
Nevada  flirt  was  making  a  blunder.  The 
sooner  she  knew  it,  the  better  for  herself ;  so 
he  played  his  game  as  badly  as  possible,  and 
with  much  dignity. 

But  Octavia  was  so  deeply  interested  in 
Mr.  Popple  ton's  ardent  efforts  to  do  credit 
to  her  teaching,  that  she  was  apparently  un 
conscious  of  all  else.  She  played  with  great 
cleverness,  and  carried  her  partner  to  the 
terminus,  with  an  eager  enjoyment  of  her 
skill  quite  pleasant  to  behold.  She  made 
little  darts  here  and  there,  advised,  directed, 
and  controlled  his  movements,  and  was  quite 
dramatic  in  a  small  way  when  he  made  a 
failure. 

Mrs.  Burnham,  who  was  superintending 
the  proceeding,  seated  in  her  own  easy-chair 
behind  her  window-curtains,  was  roused  to 
virtuous  indignation  by  her  energy. 

"  There  is  no  repose  whatever  in  her  man 
ner,"  she  said.  "  No  dignity.  Is  a  game  of 


CROQUET.  151 

croquet  a  matter  of  deep  moment  ?  It  seems 
to  me  that  it  is  almost  impious  to  devote 
one's  mind  so  wholly  to  a  mere  means  of 
recreation." 

"She  seems  to  be  enjoying  it,  mamma," 
said  Miss  Laura  Burnham,  with  a  faint  sigh. 
Miss  Laura  had  been  looking  on  over  her 
parent's  shoulder.  "  They  all  seem  to  be 
enjoying  it.  See  how  Lucia  Gastori  and  Mr. 
Burmistone  are  laughing.  I  never  saw  Lu 
cia  look  like  that  before.  The  only  one  who 
seems  a  little  dull  is  Mr.  Barold." 

"  He  is  probably  disgusted  by  a  freedom 
of  manner  to  which  he  is  not  accustomed," 
replied  Mrs.  Burnham.  "  The  only  wonder 
is  that  he  has  not  been  disgusted  by  it 
before." 


152  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

ADVANTAGES. 

THE  game  over,  Octavia  deserted  her  part 
ner.  She  walked  lightly,  and  with  the  air  of 
a  victor,  to  where  Barold  was  standing.  She 
was  smiling,  and  slightly  flushed,  and  for  a 
moment  or  so  stood  fanning  herself  with  a 
gay  Japanese  fan. 

"Don't  you  think  I  am  a  good  teacher?" 
she  asked  at  length. 

"  I  should  say  so,"  replied  Barold,  without 
enthusiasm.  "I  am  afraid  I  am  not  a  judge." 

She  waved  her  fan  airily. 

"  I  had  a  good  pupil,"  she  said.  Then  she 
held  her  fan  still  for  a  moment,  and  turned 
fully  toward  him.  "  I  have  done  something 
you  don't  like,"  she  said.  "  I  knew  I  had." 

Mr.  Francis  Barold  retired  within  himself 
at  once.  In  his  present  mood  it  really  ap 
peared  that  she  was  assuming  that  he  was 
very  much  interested  indeed. 


ADVANTAGES.  153 

"I  should  scarcely  take  the  liberty  upon 
a  limited  acquaintance,"  he  began. 

She  looked  at  him  steadily,  fanning  herself 
with  slow,  regular  movements. 

"  Yes,"  she  remarked.  u  You're  mad.  I 
knew  you  were." 

He  was  so  evidently  disgusted  by  this 
observation,  that  she  caught  at  the  meaning 
of  his  look,  and  laughed  a  little. 

"  Ah !  "  she  said,  "  that's  an  American 
word,  ain't  it?  It  sounds  queer  to  you. 
You  say  '  vexed '  instead  of  '  mad.'  Well, 
then,  you  are  vexed." 

'.'  If  I  have  been  so  clumsy  as  to  appear 
ill-humored,"  he  said,  "  I  beg  pardon.  Cer 
tainly  I  have  no  right  to  exhibit  such 
unusual  interest  in  your  conduct." 

He  felt  that  this  was  rather  decidedly  to 
the  point,  but  she  did  not  seem  overpowered 
at  all.  She  smiled  anew. 

"Anybody  has  a  right  to  be  mad — I 
mean  vexed,"  she  observed.  "  I  should  like 
to  know  how  people  would  live  if  they 
hadn't.  I  am  mad —  I  mean  vexed  —  twenty 
times  a  day." 

"Indeed?"  was  his  sole  reply. 


154  A   FAIR   BARBARIAN. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  think  it's  real  mean 
in  you  to  be  so  cool  about  it  when  you 
remember  what  I  told  you  the  other  day." 

"I  regret  to  say  I  don't  remember  just 
now.  I  hope  it  was  nothing  very  serious." 

To  his  astonishment  she  looked  down  at 
her  fan,  and  spoke  in  a  slightly  lowered 
voice :  — 

"I  told  you  that  I  wanted  to  be  im 
proved." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  he  was  mollified. 
There  was  a  softness  in  her  manner  which 
amazed  him.  He  was  at  once  embarrassed 
and  delighted.  But,  at  the  same  time,  it 
would  not  do  to  commit  himself  to  too  great 
a  seriousness. 

"  Oh ! "  he  answered,  "  that  was  a  rather 
good  joke,  I  thought." 

"No,  it  wasn't,"  she  said,  perhaps  even 
half  a  tone  lower.  "  I  was  in  earnest." 

Then  she  raised  her  eyes. 

"If  you  told  me  when  I  did  any  thing 
.wrong,  I  think  it  might  be  a  good  thing,"  she 
said. 

He  felt  that  this  was  quite  possible,  and 
was  also  struck  with  the  idea  that  he  might 


ADVANTAGES.  155 

find  the  task  of  mentor  —  so  long  as  he  re 
mained  entirely  non-committal  — rather  inter 
esting.  Still,  he  could  not  afford  to  descend 
at  once  from  the  elevated  stand  he  .x  had 
taken. 

"  I  am  afraid  you  would  find  it  rather  tire 
some,"  he  remarked. 

"I  am  afraid  you  would,"  she  answered. 
"  You  would  have  to  tell  me  of  things  so 
often." 

"Do  you  mean  seriously  to  tell  me  that 
you  would  take  my  advice  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  I  mightn't  take  all  of  it,"  was  her  reply  ; 
"but  I  should  take  some  —  perhaps  a  great 
deal." 

"Thanks,"  he  remarked.  "I  scarcely 
think  I  should  give  you  a  great  deal." 

She  simply  smiled. 

"  I  have  never  had  any  advice  at  all,"  she 
said.  "  I  don't  know  that  I  should  have 
taken  it  if  I  had  —  just  as  likely  as  not  I 
shouldn't ;  but  I  have  never  had  any.  Father 
spoiled  me.  He  gave  me  all  my  own  way. 
He  said  he  didn't  care,  so  long  as  I  had  a 
good  time  ;  and  I  must  say  I  have  generally 
had  a  good  time.  I  don't  see  how  I  could 


156  A   FAIE  BARBARIAN. 

help  it  —  with  all  my  own  way,  and  no  one 
to  worry.  I  wasn't  sick,  and  I  could  buy 
any  thing  I  liked,  and  all  that :  so  I  had  a 
good  time.  I've  read  of  girls,  in  books,  wish 
ing  they  had  mothers  to  take  care  of  them. 
I  don't  know  that  I  ever  wished  for  one  par 
ticularly.  I  can  take  care  of  myself.  I 
must  say,  too,  that  I  don't  think  some  mothers 
are  much  of  an  institution.  I  know  girls 
who  have  them,  and  they  are  always  worry 
ing." 

He  laughed  in  spite  of  himself;  and  though 
she  had  been  speaking  with  the  utmost  seri 
ousness  and  naivete,  she  joined  him. 

When  they  ceased,  she  returned  suddenly 
to  the  charge. 

"  Now  tell  me  what  I  have  done  this  after 
noon  that  isn't  right,"  she  said,  —  "that 
Lucia  Gaston  wouldn't  have  done,  for  in 
stance.  I  say  that,  because  I  shouldn't  mind 
being  a  little  like  Lucia  Gaston  —  in  some 
things." 

"Lucia  ought  to  feel  gratified,"  he  com 
mented. 

"  She  does,"  she  answered.  "  We  had  a 
little  talk  about  it,  and  she  was  as  pleased 


ADVANTAGES.  157 

as  could  be.  I  didn't  think  of  it  in  that  way 
until  I  saw  her  begin  to  blush.  Guess  what 
she  said." 

"  I  am  afraid  I  can't." 

"  She  said  she  saw  so  many  things  to  envy 
in  me,  that  she  could  scarcely  believe  I 
wanted  to  be  at  all  like  her." 

"  It  was  a  very  civil  speech,"  said  Barold 
ironically.  "  I  scarcely  thought  Lady  Theo 
bald  had  trained  her  so  well." 

"She  meant  it,"  said  Octavia.  "You 
mayn't  believe  it,  but  she  did.  I  know 
when  people  mean  things,  and  when  they 
don't." 

"  I  wish  I  did,"  said  Barold. 

Octavia  turned  her  attention  to  her  fan. 

"  Well,  I  am  waiting,"  she  said. 

"  Waiting?  "  he  repeated. 

"  To  be  told  of  my  faults." 

"But  I  scarcely  see  of  what  importance 
my  opinion  can  be." 

"It  is  of  some  importance  to  me — just 
now." 

The  last  two  words  rendered  him  really 
impatient,  and,  it  may  be,  spurred  him  up. 

"If  we   are   to   take   Lucia   Gaston  as  a 


158  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

model,"  he  said,  "Lucia  Gaston  would  pos 
sibly  not  have  been  so  complaisant  in  her 
demeanor  toward  our  clerical  friend." 

"Complaisant!'"  she  exclaimed,  opening 
her  lovely  eyes.  "When  I  was  actually 
plunging  about  the  garden,  trying  to  teach 
him  to  play.  Well,  I  shouldn't  call  that 
being  complaisant." 

"Lucia  Gaston,"  he  replied,  "would  not 
say  that  she  had  been  '  plunging '  about  the 
garden." 

She  gave  herself  a  moment  for  reflection. 

"That's  true,"  she  remarked,  when  it  was 
over:  "she  wouldn't.  When  I  compare  my 
self  with  the  Slowbridge  girls,  I  begin  to 
think  I  must  say  some  pretty  awful  things." 

Barold  made  no  reply,  which  caused  her 
to  laugh  a  little  again. 

"  You  daren't  tell  me,"  she  said.  "  Now, 
do  I  ?  Well,  I  don't  think  I  want  to  know 
very  particularly.  What  Lady  Theobald 
thinks  will  last  quite  a  good  while.  Com 
plaisant  ! " 

"  I  am  sorry  you  object  to  the  word,"  he 
said. 

"  Oh,  I  don't !  "  she  answered.     "  I  like  it. 


ADVANTAGES.  159 

It  sounds  so  much  more  polite  than  to  say 
I  was  flirting  and  being  fast." 

"  Were  you  flirting  ?  "  he  inquired  coldly. 

He  objected  to  her  ready  serenity  very 
much. 

She  looked  a  little  puzzled. 

"You  are  very  like  aunt  Belinda,"  she 
said. 

He  drew  himself  up.  He  did  not  think 
there  was  any  point  of  resemblance  at  all 
between  Miss  Belinda  and  himself. 

She  went  on,  without  observing  his  move 
ment. 

"  You  think  every  thing  means  something, 
or  is  of  some  importance.  You  said  that 
just  as  aunt  Belinda  says,  'What  will  they 
think  ?  '  It  never  occurs  to  me  that  they'll 
think  at  all.  Gracious  I  Why  should  they  ?  " 

"  You  will  find  they  do,"  he  said. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  glancing  at  the  group 
gathered  under  the  laburnum-tree,  "just 
now  aunt  Belinda  thinks  we  had  better  go 
over  to  her;  so,  suppose  we  do  it?  At  any 
rate,  I  found  out  that  I  was  too  complaisant 
to  Mr.  Poppleton." 

When  the  party  separated   for  the   after- 


160  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

noon,  Barold  took  Lucia  home,  and  Mr. 
Burmistone  and  the  curate  walked  down  the 
street  together. 

Mr.  Poppleton  was  indeed  most  agreeably 
exhilarated.  His  expressive  little  counte 
nance  beamed  with  delight. 

"  What  a  very  charming  person  Miss  Bas- 
sett  is ! "  he  exclaimed,  after  they  had  left 
the  gate.  "What  a  very  charming  person 
indeed ! " 

"Very  charming,"  said  Mr.  Burmistone 
with  much  seriousness.  "  A  prettier  young 
person  I  certainly  have  never  seen ;  and 
those  wonderful  gowns  of  hers  " — 

"Oh!"  interrupted  Mr.  Poppleton,  with 
natural  confusion,  "I  —  referred  to  Miss 
Belinda  Bassett;  though,  really,  what  you 
say  is  very  true.  Miss  Octavia  Bassett  - — 
indeed  —  I  think  —  in  fact,  Miss  Octavia 
Bassett  is  quite,  one  might  almost  say  even 
more,  charming  than  her  aunt'." 

"  Yes,"  admitted  Mr.  Burmistone  ;  "  per 
haps  one  might.  She  is  less  ripe,  it  is  true ; 
but  that  is  an  objection  time  will  remove." 

"  There  is  such  a  delightful  gayety  in  her 
manner!"  said  Mr.  Poppleton;  "such  an 


ADVANTAGES.  161 

•:; 

ingenuous  frankness  !  such  a  —  a  —  such 
spirit !  It  quite  carries  me  away  with  it,  — 
quite." 

He  walked  ;i  few  steps,  thinking  over  this 
delightful  gayety  and  ingenuous  frankness ; 
and  then  burst  out  afresh,  — 

"  And  what  a  remarkable  life  she  has  had 
too  !  She  actually  told  me,  that,  once  in  her 
childhood,  she  lived  for  months  in  a  gold- 
diggers'  camp,  —  the  only  woman  there 
She  says  the  men  were  kind  to  her,  and 
made  a  pet  of  her.  She  has  known  the  most 
extraordinary  people." 

In  the  mean  time  Francis  Barold  returned 
Lucia  to  Lady  Theobald's  safe  keeping. 
Having  done  so,  he  made  his  adieus,  and 
left  the  two  to  themselves.  Her  ladyship 
was,  it  must  be  confessed,  a  little  at  a  loss 
to  explain  to  herself  what  she  saw,  or  fancied 
she  saw,  in  the  manner  and  appearance  of 
her  young  relative.  She  was  persuaded  that 
she  had  never  seen  Lucia  look  as  she  looked 
this  afternoon.  She  had  a  brighter  color  in 
her  cheeks  than  usual,  her  pretty  -  figure 
seemed  more  erect,  her  eyes  had  a  spirit  in 
them  which  was  quite  new.  She  had  chatted 


162  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

*r 

and  laughed  gayly  with  Francis  Barold,  .as 
she  approached  the  house ;  and  after  his 
departure  she  moved  to  and  fro  with  a  free 
dom  not  habitual  to  her. 

"  He  has  been  making  himself  agreeable 
to  her,"  said  my  lady,  with  grim  pleasure. 
"  He  can  do  it  if  he  chooses ;  and  he  is  just 
the  man  to  please  a  girl,  —  good-looking,  and 
with  a  fine,  domineering  air." 

"How  did  you  enjoy  yourself?"  she 
asked. 

"  Very  much,"  said  Lucia ;  "  never  more, 
thank  you." 

"Oh!  "  ejaculated  my  lady.  "And  which 
of  her  smart  New-York  gowns  did  Miss 
Octavia  Bassett  wear  ?  " 

They  were  at  the  dinner-table ;  and,  in 
stead  of  looking  down  at  her  soup,  Lucia 
looked  quietly  and  steadily  across  the  table 
at  her  grandmother. 

"  She  wore  a  very  pretty  one,"  she  said : 
"  it  was  pale  fawn-color,  and  fitted  her  like  a 
glove.  She  made  me  feel  very  old-fashioned 
and  badly  dressed." 

Lady  Theobald  laid  down  her  spoon. 

"She  made  you  feel  old-fashioned  and 
badly  dressed,  — you !  " 


ADVANTAGES.  163 

"Yes,"  responded  Lucia:  "she  always 
does.  I  wonder  what  she  thinks  of  the 
things  we  wear  in  Slowbridge."  And  she 
even  went  to  the  length  of  smiling  a  little. 

"  What  she  thinks  of  what  is  worn  in 
Slowbridge ! "  Lady  Theobald  ejaculated. 
"  She !  may  I  ask  what  weight  the  opinion 
of  a  young  woman  from  America  —  from 
Nevada  —  is  supposed  to  have  in  Slow- 
bridge?" 

Lucia  took  a  spoonful  of  soup  in  a  leisurely 
manner. 

"I  don't  think  it  is  supposed  to  have  any; 
but  —  but  I  don't  think  she  minds  that.  I 
feel  as  if  I  shouldn't  if  I  were  in  her  place. 
I  have  always  thought  her  very  lucky." 

"  You  have  thought  her  lucky  !  "  cried  my 
lady.  "  You  have  envied  a  Nevada  young 
woman,  who  dresses  like  an  actress,  and  loads 
herself  with  jewels  like  a  barbarian  ?  A  girl 
whose  conduct  toward  men  is  of  a  character 
to  —  to  chill  one's  blood  !  " 

"  They  admire  her,"  said  Lucia  simply, 
"  more  than  they  admire  Lydia  Egerton,  and 
more  than  they  admire  me." 

"  Do  you  admire  her  ?  "  demanded  my  lady. 


164  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  Yes,  grandmamma,"  replied  Lucia  cour 
ageously.  "  I  think  I  do." 

Never  had  my  lady  been  so  astounded  in 
her  life.  For  a  moment  she  could  scarcely 
speak.  When  she  recovered  herself  she 
pointed  to  the  door. 

"  Go  to  your  room,"  she  commanded. 
"  This  is  American  freedom  of  speech,  I  sup 
pose.  Go  to  your  room." 

Lucia  rose  obediently.  She  could  not  help 
wondering  what  her  ladyship's  course  would 
be  if  she  had  the  hardihood  to  disregard  her 
order.  She  really  looked  quite  capable  of 
carrying  it  out  forcibly  herself.  When  the 
girl  stood  at  her  bedroom  window,  a  few 
minutes  later,  her  cheeks  were  burning  and 
her  hands  trembling. 

"  I  am  afraid  it  was  very  badly  done,"  she 
said  to  herself.  "  I  am  sure  it  was  ;  but  — 
but  it  will  be  a  kind  of  practice.  I  was  in 
such  a  hurry  to  try  if  I  were  equal  to  it,  that 
I  didn't  seem  to  balance  things  quite  rightly. 
I  ought  to  have  waited  until  I  had  more  rea 
son  to  speak  out.  Perhaps  there  wasn't 
enough  reason  then,  and  I  was  more  aggres 
sive  than  I  ought  to  have  been.  Octavia  is 


ADVANTAGES.  165 

never  aggressive.  I  wonder  if  I  was  at  all 
pert.  I  don't  think  Octavia  ever  means  to 
be  pert.  I  felt  a  little  as  if  I  meant  to  be 
pert.  I  must  learn  to  balance  myself,  and 
only  be  cool  and  frank." 

Then  she  looked  out  of  the  window,  and 
reflected  a  little. 

"I  was  not  so  very  brave,  after  all,"  she 
said,  rather  reluctantly.  "I  didn't  tell  her 
Mr.  Burmistone  was  there.  I  daren't  have 
done  that.  I  am  afraid  I  am  sly  —  that 
sounds  sly,  I  am  sure." 


166  A   FAIR  BAEBAE1AN. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

CONTRAST. 

"  LADY  THEOBALD  will  put  a  stop  to  it," 
was  the  general  remark.  "  It  will  certainly 
not  occur  again." 

This  was  said  upon  the  evening  of  the  first 
gathering  upon  Miss  Belinda's  grass-plat,  and 
at  the  same  time  it  was  prophesied  that  Mr. 
Francis  Barold  would  soon  go  away. 

But  neither  of  the  prophecies  proved  true. 
Mr.  Francis  Barold  did  not  return  to  London ; 
and,  strange  to  say,  Lucia  was  seen  again 
and  again  playing  croquet  with  Octavia 
Basse tt,  and  was  even  known  to  spend  even 
ings  with  her. 

Perhaps  it  might  be  that  an  appeal  made 
by  Miss  Belinda  to  her  ladyship  had  caused 
her  to  allow  of  these  things.  Miss  Belinda 
had,  in  fact,  made  a  private  call  upon  my 
lady,  to  lay  her  case  before  her. 

"  I  feel  so  very  timid  about  every  thing," 


CONTRAST.  167 

she  said,  almost  with  tears,  "and  so  fearful 
of  -trusting  myself,  that  I  really  find  it  quite 
a  trial.  The  dear  child  has  such  a  kind 
heart  —  I  assure  you  she  has  a  kind  heart, 
dear  Lady  Theobald,  —  and  is  so  innocent  of 
any  intention  to  do  wrong  —  I  am  sure  she  is 
innocent,  —  that  it  seems  cruel  to  judge  her 
severely.  If  she  had  had  the  benefit  of  such 
training  as  dear  Lucia's,  I  am  convinced  that 
her  conduct  would  have  been  most  exem 
plary.  She  sees  herself  that  she  has  faults : 
I  am  sure  she  does.  She  said  to  me  only 
last  night,  in  that  odd  way  of  hers,  —  she 
had  been  sitting,  evidently  thinking  deeply, 
for  some  minutes,  —  and  she  said,  '  I  wonder 
if  I  shouldn't  be  nicer  if  I  were  more  like 
Lucia  Gaston.'  You  see  what  turn  her 
mind  must  have  taken.  She  admires  Lucia 
so  much." 

"  Yesterday  evening  at  dinner,"  said  Lady 
Theobald  severely,  "  Lucia  informed  me 
that  she  admired  your  niece.  The  feeling 
seems  to  be  mutual." 

Miss  Belinda  colored,  and  brightened  visi- 
bly. 

"  Did  she,  indeed  ?  "  she  exclaimed.    "  How 


168  A   FAIR   BARBARIAN. 

pleased  Octavia  will  be  to  hear  it !  Did  she, 
indeed? "  Then,  warned  by  a  chilliness,  and 
lack  of  response,  in  her  ladyship's  manner, 
she  modified  her  delight,  and  became  apolo 
getic  again.  "  These  young  people  are  more 
—  are  less  critical  than  we  are,"  she  sighed. 
"  Octavia's  great  prettiness  "  — 

"  I  think,"  Lady  Theobald  interposed, 
"  that  Lucia  has  been  taught  to  feel  that  the 
body  is  corruptible,  and  subject  to  decay, 
and  that  mere  beauty  is  of  small  moment." 

Miss  Belinda  sighed  again. 

"  That  is  very  true,"  she  admitted  depre- 
catingiy ;  "  very  true  indeed." 

"  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Octavia's  stay  in 
Slowbridge  will  prove  beneficial  to  her,"  said 
her  ladyship  in  her  most  judicial  manner. 
"  The  atmosphere  is  wholly  unlike  that  which 
has  surrounded  her  during  her  previous  life." 

"  I  am  sure  it  will  prove  beneficial  to  her," 
said  Miss  Belinda  eagerly.  "  The  compan 
ionship  of  well-trained  and  refined  young 
people  cannot  fail  to  be  of  use  to  her.  Such 
a  companion  as  Lucia  would  be,  if  you  would 
kindly  permit  her  to  spend  an  evening  with 
us  now  and  then,  would  certainly  improve 


CONTRAST.  169 

and  modify  her  greatly.  Mr.  Francis  Barold 
is  —  is,  I  think,  of  the  same  opinion;  at 
least,  I  fancied  I  gathered  as  much  from  a 
few  words  he  let  fall." 

"Francis  Barold?"  repeated  Lady  Theo 
bald.  "  And  what  did  Francis  Barold  say  ?  " 

"  Of  course  it  was  but  very  little,"  hesi 
tated  Miss  Belinda ;  "  but  —  but  I  could  not 
help  seeing  that  he  was  drawing  comparisons, 
as  it  were.  Octavia  was  teaching  Mr.  Pop- 
pleton  to  play  croquet ;  and  she  was  rather 
exhilarated,  and  perhaps  exhibited  more  — 
freedom  of  manner,  in  an  innocent  way, — 
quite  in  an  innocent,  thoughtless  way,  —  than 
is  exactly  customary ;  and  I  saw  Mr.  Barold 
glance  from  her  to  Lucia,  who  stood  near; 
and  when  I  said,  'You  are  thinking  of  the 
contrast  between  them,'  he  answered,  'Yes, 
they  differ  very  greatly,  it  is  true ; '  and  of 
course  I  knew  that  my  poor  Octavia  could 
not  have  the  advantage  in  his  eyes.  She 
feels  this  herself,  I  know.  She  shocked  me 
the  other  day,  beyond  expression,  by  telling 
me  that  she  had  asked  him  if  he  thought  she 
was  really  fast,  and  that  she  was  sure  he 
did.  Poor  child !  she  evidently  did  not  com- 


170  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

prehend  the  dreadful  significance  of  such 
terms." 

"  A  man  like  Francis  Barold  does  under 
stand  their  significance,"  said  Lady  Theo 
bald  ;  "  and  it  is  to  be  deplored,  that  your 
niece  cannot  be  taught  what  her  position  in 
society  will  be  if  such  a  reputation  attaches 
itself  to  her.  The  men  of  the  present  day 
fight  shy  of  such  characters." 

This  dread  clause  so  impressed  poor  Miss 
Belinda  by  its  solemnity,  that  she  could  not 
forbear  repeating  it  to  Octavia  afterward, 
though  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  it  did  not 
produce  the  effect  she  had  hoped. 

"Well,  I  must  say,"  she  observed,  "that 
if  some  men  fought  a  little  shyer  than  they 
do,  I  shouldn't  mind  it.  You  always  do  have 
about  half  a  dozen  dangling  around,  who 
only  bore  you,  and  who  will  keep  asking  you 
to  go  to  places,  and  sending  you  bouquets, 
and  asking  you  to  dance  when  they  can't 
dance  at  all,  and  only  tear  your  dress,  and 
stand  on  your  feet.  If  they  would  'fight 
shy,'  it  would  be  splendid." 

To  Miss  Belinda,  who  certainly  had  never 
been  guilty  of  the  indecorum  of  having  any 


CONTRAST.  171 

member  of  the  stronger  sex  "  dangling  about " 
at  all,  this  was  very  trying. 

"  My  dear,"  she  said,  "  don't  say  '  you 
always  have  ; '  it  —  it  really  seems  to  make 
it  so  personal." 

Octavia  turned  around,  and  fixed  her  eyes 
wonderingly  upon  her  blushing  countenance. 
For  a  moment  she  made  no  remark,  a  mar 
vellous  thought  shaping  itself  slowly  in  her 
mind. 

"  Aunt  Belinda,"  she  said  at  length,  "  did 
nobody  ever  "  — 

"  Ah,  no,  my  dear  !  No,  no,  I  assure  you !  " 
cried  Miss  Belinda,  in  the  greatest  possible 
trepidation.  "  Ah,  dear,  no  !  Such  —  such 
things  rarely  —  very  rarely  happen  in  — 
Slowbridge  ;  and,  besides,  I  couldn't  possibly 
have  thought  of  it.  I  couldn't,  indeed  !  " 

She  was  so  overwhelmed  with  maidenly 
confusion  at  the  appalling  thought,  that  she 
did  not  recover  herself  for  half  an  hour  at 
least.  Octavia,  feeling  that  it  would  not  be 
safe  to  pursue  the  subject,  only  uttered  one 
word  of  comment,  — 

"  Gracious !  " 


172  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

AN  EXPERIMENT. 

MUCH  to  her  own  astonishment,  Lucia 
found  herself  allowed  new  liberty.  She  was 
permitted  to  spend  the  afternoon  frequently 
with  Octavia ;  and  on  several  occasions  that 
young  lady  and  Miss  Bassett  were  invited  to 
partake  of  tea  at  Oldclough  in  company  with 
no  other  guest  than  Francis  Barold. 

"  I  don't  know  what  it  means,  and  I  think 
it  must  mean  something,"  said  Lucia  to 
Octavia  ;  "  but  it  is  very  pleasant.  I  never 
was  allowed  to  be  so  intimate  with  any  one 
before." 

"  Perhaps,"  suggested  Octavia  sagely,  "  she 
thinks,  that,  if  you  see  me  often  enough,  you 
will  get  sick  of  me,  and  it  will  be  a  lesson  to 

you." 

"  The  more  I  see  of  you,"  answered  Lucia 
with  a  serious  little  air,  "  the  fonder  I  am  of 
you.  I  understand  you  better.  You  are 


AN  EXPERIMENT.  173 

not  at  all  like  what  I   thought  you  at  first, 
Octavia." 

"  But  I  don't  know  that  there's  much  to 
understand  in  me." 

"There  is  a  great  deal  to  understand  in 
you,"  she  replied.  "  You  are  a  puzzle  to  me 
often.  You  seem  so  frank,  and  yet  one 
knows  so  little  about  you  after  all.  For 
instance,"  Lucia  went  on,  "who  would  im 
agine  that  you  are  so  affectionate  ?  " 

"  Am  I  affectionate  ?  "  she  asked. 

"Yes,"  answered  Lucia:  "I  am  sure  you 
are  very  affectionate.  I  have  found  it  out 
gradually.  You  would  suffer  things  for  any 
one  you  loved." 

Octavia  thought  the  matter  over. 

"  Yes,"  she  said  at  length,  "  I  would." 

"You  are  very  fond  of  Miss  Bassett," 
proceeded  Lucia,  as  if  arraigning  her  at  the 
bar  of  justice.  "  You  are  very  fond  of  your 
father ;  and  I  am  sure  there  are  other  people 
you  are  very  fond  of —  very  fond  of  indeed." 

Octavia  pondered  seriously  again. 

"  Yes,  there  are,"  she  remarked ;  "  but  no 
one  would  care  about  them  here,  and  so 
I'm  not  going  to  make  a  fuss.  You  don't 


174  A   FA  IE  BARBARIAN. 

want    to    make    a    fuss    over    people    you 
1-like." 

"  You  don't,"  said  Lucia.  "  You  are  like 
Francis  Barold  in  one  way,  but  you  are 
altogether  different  in  another.  Francis 
Barold  does  not  wish  to  show  emotion ;  and 
he  is  so  determined  to  hedge  himself  around, 
that  one  can't  help  suspecting  that  he  is 
always  guarding  himself  against  one.  He 
seems  always  to  be  resenting  any  interfer 
ence;  but  you  do  not  appear  to  care  at  all, 
and  so  it  is  not  natural  that  one  should  sus 
pect  you.  I  did  not  suspect  you," 

"  What  do  you  suspect  me  of  now  ?  " 

"Of  thinking  a  great  deal,"  answered 
Lucia  affectionately.  "  And  of  being  very 
clever  and  very  good." 

Octavia  was  silent  for  a  few  moments. 

" I  think,"  she  said  after  the  pause,  —  "I 
think  you'll  find  out  that  it's  a  mistake." 

"No,  I  shall  not,"  returned  Lucia,  quite 
glowing  with  enthusiasm.  "  And  I  know  I 
shall  learn  a  great  deal  from  you." 

This  was  such  a  startling  proposition  that 
Octavia  felt  decidedly  uncomfortable.  She 
flushed  rosy  red. 


AN  EXPERIMENT.  175 

"I'm  the  one  who  ought  to  learn  things, 
I  think,"  she  said.  "I'm  always  doing 
things  that  frighten  aunt  Belinda,  and  you 
know  how  the  rest  regard  me." 

"Octavia,"  said  Lucia,  very  naively  in 
deed,  "suppose  we  try  to  help  each  other. 
If  you  will  tell  me  when  I  am  wrong,  I  will 
try  to  —  to  have  the  courage  to  tell  you. 
That  will  be  good  practice  for  me.  What 
I  want  most  is  courage  and  frankness,  and  I 
am  sure  it  will  take  courage  to  make  up  my 
mind  to  tell  you  of  your  —  of  your  mistakes." 

Octavia  regarded  her  with  mingled  ad 
miration  and  respect. 

"  I  think  that's  a  splendid  idea,"  she  said. 

"  Are  you  sure,"  faltered  Lucia,  "  are  you 
sure  you  won't  mind  the  things  I  may  have 
to  say  ?  Really,  they  are  quite  little  things 
in  themselves  —  hardly  worth  mention- 
ing"- 

"Tell  me  one  of  them,  right  now,"  said 
Octavia,  point-blank. 

"  Oh,  no !  "  exclaimed  Lucia,  starting. 
"I'd  rather  not — just  now." 

"  Well,"  commented  Octavia,  "  that  sounds 
as  if  they  must  be  pretty  unpleasant.  Why 


176  A   FAIR   BARBARIAN. 

don't  you  want  to  ?  They  will  be  quite  as 
bad  to-morrow.  And  to  refuse  to  tell  me 
one  is  a  bad  beginning.  It  looks  as  if  you 
were  frightened;  and  it  isn't  good  practice 
for  you  to  be  frightened  at  such  a  little 
thing." 

Lucia  felt  convicted.  She  made  an  effort 
to  regain  her  composure. 

"No,  it  is  not,"  she  said.  "But  that  is 
always  the  way.  I  am  continually  telling 
myself  that  I  will  be  courageous  and  candid ; 
and,  the  first  time  any  thing  happens,  I  fail. 
I  will  tell  you  one  thing." 

She  stopped  short  here,  and  looked  at 
Octavia  guiltily. 

"  It  is  something  —  I  think  I  would  do  if 
—  if  I  were  in  your  place,"  Lucia  stammered. 
"  A  very  little  thing  indeed." 

"  Well  ?  "  remarked  Octavia  anxiously. 

Lucia  lost  her  breath,  caught  it  again,  and 
proceeded  cautiously,  and  with  blushes  at 
her  own  daring. 

"  If  I  were  in  your  place,"  she  said,  "  I 
think  —  that,  perhaps  —  only  perhaps,  you 
know  —  I  would  not  wear  —  my  hair  —  quite 
so  low  down  —  over  my  forehead." 


AN  EXPERIMENT.  177 

O  eta  via  sprang  from  her  seat,  and  ran  to 
the  pier-glass  over  the  mantle.  She  glanced 
at  the  reflection  of  her  own  startled,  pretty 
face,  and  then,  putting  her  hand  up  to  the 
soft  blonde  "  bang "  which  met  her  brows, 
turned  to  Lucia. 

"Isn't  it  becoming?"  she  asked  breath 
lessly. 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  Lucia  answered.     "  Very." 

Octavia  started. 

"  Then,  why  wouldn't  you  wear  it  ?  "  she 
cried.  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

Lucia  felt  her  position  truly  a  delicate  one. 
She  locked  her  hands,  and  braced  herself; 
but  she  blushed  vividly. 

"  It  may  sound  rather  silly  when  I  tell  you 
why,  Octavia,"  she  said;  "but  I  really  do 
think  it  is  a  sort  of  reason.  You  know,  in 
those  absurd  pictures  of  actresses,  bangs 
always  seem  to  be  the  principal  feature.  I 
saw  some  in  the  shop-windows  when  I  went 
to  Harriford  with  grandmamma.  And  they 
were  such  dreadful  women,  —  some  of  them, 
—  and  had  so  very  few  clothes  on,  that  I 
can't  help  thinking  I  shouldn't  like  to  look 
like  them,  and  "  — 


178  A   FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

"  Does  it  make  me  look  like  them  ?  " 

"  Oh,  very  little  !  "  answered  Lucia ;  "  very 
little  indeed,  of  course  ;  but  "  — 

"  But  it's  the  same  thing  after  all,"  put  in 
Octavia.  "  That's  what  you  mean." 

"  It  is  so  very  little,"  faltered  Lucia,  "  that 
—  that  perhaps  it  isn't  a  reason." 

Octavia  looked  at  herself  in  the  glass  again. 

"  It  isn't  a  very  good  reason,"  she  remarked, 
"  but  I  suppose  it  will  do." 

She  paused,  and  looked  Lucia  in  the  face. 

"  I  don't  think  that's  a  little  thing,"  she 
said.  "To  be  told  you  look  like  an  opSra 
bouffe  actress." 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  say  so,"  cried  Lucia, 
filled  with  the  most  poignant  distress.  "I 
beg  your  pardon,  indeed  —  I  —  oh,  dear  !  I 
was  afraid  you  wouldn't  like  it.  I  felt  that 
it  was  taking  a  great  liberty." 

"  I  don't  like  it,"  answered  Octavia  ;  "but 
that  can't  be  helped.  I  didn't  exactly  sup 
pose  I  should.  But  I  wasn't  going  to  say 
any  thing  about  your  hair  when  I  began," 
glancing  at  poor  Lucia's  coiffure,  "  though  I 
suppose  I  might." 

"  You   might  say  a  thousand  things  about 


AN  EXPERIMENT.  179 

it ! "  cried  Lucia  piteously.  "  I  know  that 
mine  is  not  only  in  bad  taste,  but  it  is  ugly 
and  unbecoming." 

"  Yes,"  said  Octavia  cruelly,  "it  is." 

"  And  yours  is  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other,"  protested  Lucia.  "  You  know  I  told 
you  it  was  pretty,  Octavia." 

Octavia  walked  over  to  the  table,  upon 
which  stood  Miss  Belinda's  work-basket,  and 
took  therefrom  a  small  and  gleaming  pair  of 
scissors,  returning  to  the  mantle-glass  with 
them. 

"  How  short  shall  I  cut  it  ?  "  she  demanded. 

"  Oh  !  "  exclaimed  Lucia,  "  don't,  don't !  " 

For  answer,  Octavia  raised  the  scissors, 
and  gave  a  snip.  It  was  a  savage  snip,  and 
half  the  length  and  width  of  her  love-locks 
fell  on  the  mantle ;  then  she  gave  another 
snip,  and  the  other  half  fell. 

Lucia  scarcely  dared  to  breathe. 

For  a  moment  Octavia  stood  gazing  at 
herself,  with  pale  face  and  dilated  eyes. 
Then  suddenly  the  folly  of  the  deed  she  had 
done  seemed  to  reveal  itself  to  her. 

"  Oh  !  "  she  cried  out.  "  Oh,  how  diaboli 
cal  it  looks ! " 


180  A  FAIR  BAEBARIAN. 

She  turned  upon  Lucia. 

"Why  did  you  make  me  do  it?"  she  ex 
claimed.  "  It's  all  your  fault  —  every  bit  of 
it ; "  and,  flinging  the  scissors  to  the  other 
end  of  the  room,  she  threw  herself  into  a 
chair,  and  burst  into  tears. 

Lucia's  anguish  of  mind  was  almost  more 
than  she  could  bear.  For  at  least  three 
minutes  she  felt  herself  a  criminal  of  the 
deepest  dye ;  after  the  three  minutes  had 
elapsed,  however,  she  began  to  reason,  and 
called  to  mind  the  fact  that  she  was  failing 
as  usual  under  her  crisis. 

"  This  is  being  a  coward  again,"  she  said 
to  herself.  "It  is  worse  than  to  have  said 
nothing.  It  is  true  that  she  will  look  more 
refined,  now  one  can  see  a  little  of  her  fore 
head  ;  and  it  is  cowardly  to  be  afraid  to  stand 
firm  Avhen  I  really  think  so.  I  —  yes,  I  will 
say  something  to  her." 

"  Octavia,"  she  began  aloud,  "  I  am  sure 
you  are  making  a  mistake  again."  This  as 
decidedly  as  possible,  which  was  not  very 
decidedly.  "You  —  you  look  very  much  — 
nicer." 

"I  look  ghastly!"  said  Octavia,  who  began 
to  feel  rather  absurd. 


AN  EXPERIMENT.  181 

"  You  do  not.  Your  forehead  —  you  have 
the  prettiest  forehead  I  ever  saw,  Octavia," 
said  Lucia  eagerly ;  "  and  your  eyebrows  are 
perfect.  I  —  wish  you  would  look  at  your 
self  again." 

Rather  to  her  surprise,  Octavia  began  to 
laugh  under  cover  of  her  handkerchief:  re 
action  had  set  in,  and,  though  the  laugh  was 
a  trifle  hysterical,  it  was  still  a  laugh.  Next 
she  gave  her  eyes  a  final  little  dab,  and  rose 
to  go  to  the  glass  again.  She  looked  at  her 
self,  touched  up  the  short,  waving  fringe 
left  on  her  forehead,  and  turned  to  Lucia, 
with  a  resigned  expression. 

"  Do  you  think  that  any  one  who  was  used 
to  seeing  it  the  other  way  would  —  would 
think  I  looked  horrid?"  she  inquired  anx 
iously. 

"  They  would  think  you  prettier,  —  a  great 
deal,"  Lucia  answered  earnestly.  "  Don't 
you  know,  Octavia,  that  nothing  could  be 
really  unbecoming  to  you  ?  You  have  that 
kind  of  face." 

For  a  few  seconds  Octavia  seemed  to  lose 
herself  in  thought  of  a  speculative  nature. 

"  Jack  always  said  so,"  she  remarked  at 
length. 


182  A   FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

"  Jack  !  "  repeated  Lucia  timidly. 

Octavia  roused  herself,  and  smiled  with 
candid  sweetness. 

"  He  is  some  one  I  knew  in  Nevada,"  she 
explained.  "  He  worked  in  father's  mine 
once." 

"You  must  have  known  him  very  well," 
suggested  Lucia,  somewhat  awed. 

"  I  did,"  she  replied  calmly.     "  Very  well." 

She  tucked  away  her  pocket-handkerchief 
in  the  jaunty  pocket  at  the  back  of  her 
basque,  and  returned  to  her  chair.  Then 
she  turned  again  to  Lucia. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  think  you  have  found 
out  that  you  ivere  mistaken,  haven't  you, 
dear?  Suppose  you  tell  me  of  something 
else." 

Lucia  colored. 

"  No,"  she  answered  :  "  that  is  enough  for 
to-day." 


PECULIAR   TO  NEVADA.  183 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PECULIAR   TO  NEVADA. 

WHETHER,  or  not,  Lucia  was  right  in  ac 
cusing  Octavia  Bassett  of  being  clever,  and 
thinking  a  great  deal,  is  a  riddle  which  those 
who  are  interested  in  her  must  unravel  as 
they  read ;  but,  whether  the  surmise  was  cor 
rect  or  incorrect,  it  seemed  possible  that  she 
had  thought  a  little  after  the  interview. 
When  Barold  saw  her  next,  he  was  struck 
by  a  slight  but  distinctly  definable  change  he 
recognized  in  her  dress  and  coiffure.  Her 
pretty  hair  had  a  rather  less  "  professional " 
appearance :  he  had  the  pleasure  of  observ 
ing,  for  the  first  time,  how  very  white  her 
forehead  was,  and  how  delicate  the  arch  of 
her  eyebrows ;  her  dress  had  a  novel  air  of 
simplicity,  and  the  diamond  rings  were  no 
where  to  be  seen. 

"  She's  better  dressed  than  usual,"  he  said 
to  himself.  "  And  she's  always  well  dressed, 


184  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

—  rather  too  well  dressed,  fact  is,  for  a  place 
like  this.  This  sort  of  thing  is  in  better 
form,  under  the  circumstances." 

It  was  so  much  "better  form,"  and  he  so 
far  approved  of  it,  that  he  quite  thawed, 
and  was  very  amiable  and  very  entertaining 
indeed. 

O  eta  via  was  entertaining  too.  She  asked 
several  most  interesting  questions. 

"  Do  you  think,"  she  inquired,  "  that  it  is 
bad  taste  to  wear  diamonds  ?  " 

"My  mother  wears  them  —  occasionally." 

"  Have  you  any  sisters  ?  " 

"No."  " 

"  Any  cousins  —  as  young  as  I  am  ?  " 

"  Ya-as." 

"  Do  they  wear  them  ?  " 

"I  must  admit,"  he  replied,  "that  they 
don't.  In  the  first  place,  you  know,  they 
haven't  any ;  and,  in  the  second,  I  am  under 
the  impression  that  Lady  Beauchamp  —  their 
mamma,  you  know  —  wouldn't  permit  it  if 
they  had." 

"  Wouldn't  permit  it !  "  said  Octavia.  "  I 
suppose  they  always  do  as  she  tells  them  ?  " 

He  smiled  a  little. 


PECULIAR    TO  NEVADA.  185 

"They  would  be  very  courageous  young 
women  if  they  didn't,"  he  remarked. 

"What  would  she  do  if  they  tried  it?" 
she  inquired.  "  She  couldn't  beat  them." 

"They  will  never  try  it,"  he  answered 
dryly.  "And  though  I  have  never  seen 
her  beat  them,  or  heard  their  lamentations 
under  chastisement,  I  should  not  like  to  say 
that  Lady  Beauchamp  could  not  do  any 
thing.  She  is  a  very  determined  person  — 
for  a  gentlewoman." 

Octavia  laughed. 

"  You  are  joking,"  she  said. 

"  Lady  Beauchamp  is  a  serious  subject  for 
jokes,"  he  responded.  "My  cousins  think 
so,  at  least." 

"  I  wonder  if  she  is  as  bad  as  Lady  Theo 
bald,"  Octavia  reflected  aloud.  "  She  says  I 
have  no  right  to  wear  diamonds  at  all  until 
I  am  married.  But  I  don't  mind  Lady 
Theobald,"  she  added,  as  a  cheerful  after 
thought.  "  I  am  not  fond  enough  of  her  to 
care  about  what  she  says." 

"  Are  you  fond  of  any  one  ?  "  Barolcl  in 
quired,  speaking  with  a  languid  air,  but  at 
the  same  time  glancing  at  her  with  some 
slight  interest  from  under  his  eyelids. 


186  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"Lucia  says  I  am,"  she  returned,  with  the 
calmness  of  a  young  person  who  wished  to  re_- 
gard  the  matter  from  an  unembarrassed  point 
of  view.  "  Lucia  says  I  am  affectionate." 

"  Ah !  "  deliberately.     "  Are  you  ?  " 

She  turned,  and  looked  at  him  serenely. 

"  Should  you  think  so  ?  "  she  asked. 

This  was  making  such  a  personal  matter 
of  the  question,  that  he  did  not  exactly  enjoy 
it.  It  was  certainly  not  "good  form"  to 
pull  a  man  up  in  such  cool  style. 

"Really,"  he  replied,  "I  —  ah  —  have  had 
no  opportunity  of  judging." 

He  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of  being 
amusing,  but  to  his  infinite  disgust  he  dis 
covered  as  soon  as  he  spoke  that  she  was 
amused.  She  laughed  outright,  and  evi 
dently  only  checked  herself  because  he 
looked  so  furious.  In  consideration  for  his 
feelings  she  assumed  an  air  of  mild  but  pre 
ternatural  seriousness. 

"  No,"  she  remarked,  "  that  is  true :  you 
haven't,  of  course." 

He  was  silent.  He  did  not  enjoy  being 
amusing  at  all,  and  he  made  no  pretence  of 
appearing  to  submit  to  the  indignity  calmly. 


PECULIAE   TO  NEVADA.  187 

She  bent  forward  a  little. 

"  Ah ! "  she  exclaimed,  "  you  are  mad 
again  —  I  mean,  you  are  vexed.  I  am  al 
ways  vexing  you." 

There  was  a  hint  of  appeal  in  her  voice, 
which  rather  pleased  him ;  but  he  had  no 
intention  of  relenting  at  once. 

"I  confess  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  why 
you  laughed,"  he  said. 

"Are  }rou,"  she  asked,  "really?"  letting 
her  eyes  rest  upon  him  anxiously  for  a 
moment.  Then  she  actually  gave  vent  to  a 
little  sigh.  "  We  look  at  things  so  differ 
ently,  that's  it,"  she  said. 

"I  suppose  it  is,"  he  responded,  still 
chillingly. 

In  spite  of  this,  she  suddenly  assumed  a 
comparatively  cheerful  aspect.  A  happy 
thought  occurred  to  her. 

"  Lucia  would  beg  your  pardon,"  she  said. 
"I  am  learning  good  manners  from  Lucia. 
Suppose  I  beg  your  pardon." 

"  It  is  quite  unnecessary,"  he  replied. 

"  Lucia  wouldn't  think  so,"  she  said. 
"  And  why  shouldn't  I  be  as  well-behaved  as 
Lucia  ?  I  beg  your  pardon." 


188  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

He  felt  rather  absurd,  and  yet  somewhat 
mollified.  She  had  a  way  of  looking  at  him, 
sometimes,  when  she  had  been  unpleasant, 
which  rather  soothed  him.  In  fact,  he  had 
found  of  late,  a  little  to  his  private  annoy 
ance,  that  it  was  very  easy  for  her  either  to 
soothe  or  disturb  him. 

And  now,  just  as  Octavia  had  settled 
down  into  one  of  the  prettiest  and  least 
difficult  of  her  moods,  there  came  a  knock 
at  the  front  door,  which,  being  answered  by 
Mary  Anne,  was  found  to  announce  the 
curate  of  St.  James. 

Enter,  consequently,  the  Rev.  Arthur 
Poppleton,  —  blushing,  a  trifle  timorous  per 
haps,  but  happy  beyond  measure  to  find 
himself  in  Miss  Belinda's  parlor  again,  with 
Miss  Belinda's  niece. 

Perhaps  the  least  possible  shade  of  his 
joyousness  died  out  when  he  caught  sight 
of  Mr.  Francis  Barold,  and  certainly  Mr. 
Francis  Barold  was  not  at  all  delighted  to 
see  him. 

"What  does  the  fellow  want?"  that  gen 
tleman  was  saying  inwardly.  "  What  does 
he  come  simpering  and  turning  pink  here 


PECULIAR   TO  NEVADA.  189 

for?  Why  doesn't  he  go  and  see  some  of 
his  old  women,  and  read  tracts  to  them? 
That's  his  business." 

Octavia's  manner  toward  her  visitor 
formed  a  fresh  grievance  for  Barold.  She 
treated  the  cnrate  very  well  indeed.  She 
seemed  glad  to  see  him,  she  was  wholly  at 
her  ease  with  him,  she  made  no  trying  re 
marks  to  him,  she  never  stopped  to  fix  her 
eyes  upon  him  in  that  inexplicable  style, 
and  she  did  not  laugh  when  there  seemed 
nothing  to  laugh  at.  She  was  so  gay  and 
good-humored  that  the  Rev.  Arthur  Popple- 
ton  beamed  and  flourished  under  her  treat 
ment,  and  forgot  to  change  color,  and  even 
ventured  to  talk  a  good  deal,  and  make 
divers  quite  presentable  little  jokes. 

"  I  should  like  to  know,"  thought  Barold, 
growing  sulkier  as  the  others  grew  merrier, 
—  "I  should  like  to  know  what  she  finds  so 
interesting  in  him,  and  why  she  chooses  to 
treat  him  better  than  she  treats  me ;  for  she 
certainly  does  treat  him  better." 

It  was  hardly  fair,  however,  that  he  should 
complain;  for,  at  times,  he  was  treated  ex 
tremely  well,  and  his  intimacy  with  Octavia 


190  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

progressed  quite  rapidly.  Perhaps,  if  the 
truth  were  told,  it  was  always  himself  who 
was  the  first  means  of  checking  it,  by  some 
suddenly  prudent  instinct  which  led  him  to 
feel  that  perhaps  he  was  in  rather  a  delicate 
position,  and  had  better  not  indulge  in  too 
much  of  a  good  thing.  He  had  not  been  an 
eligible  and  unimpeachable  desirable  parti 
for  ten  years  without  acquiring  some  of  that 
discretion  which  is  said  to  be  the  better  part 
of  valor.  The  matter-of-fact  air  with  which 
Octavia  accepted  his  attentions  caused  him 
to  pull  himself  up  sometimes.  If  he  had 
been  Brown,  or  Jones,  or  even  Robinson,  she 
could  not  have  appeared  to  regard  them  as 
more  entirely  natural.  When  —  he  had  gone 
so  far,  once  or  twice  —  he  had  deigned  to 
make  a  more  than  usually  agreeable  speech  to 
her,  it  was  received  with  none  of  that  charm 
ing  sensitive  tremor  to  which  he  was  accus 
tomed.  Octavia  neither  blushed,  nor  dropped 
her  eyes. 

It  did  not  add  to  Barold's  satisfaction  to 
find  her  as  cheerful  and  ready  to  be  amused 
by  a  mild  little  curate,  who  blushed  and 
stammered,  and  was  neither  brilliant,  grace- 


PECULIAR   TO  NEVADA.  191 

ful,  nor  distinguished.  Could  not  Octavia 
see  the  wide  difference  between  the  two  ? 

Regarding  the  matter  in  this  light,  and 
watching  Octavia  as  she  encouraged  her 
visitor,  and  laughed  at  his  jokes,  arid  never 
once  tripped  him  up  by  asking  him  a  start 
ling  question,  did  not,  as  already  has  been 
said,  improve  Mr.  Francis  Barold's  temper; 
and,  by  the  time  his  visit  was  over,  he  had 
lapsed  into  his  coldest  and  most  haughty 
manner.  As  soon  as  Miss  Belinda  entered, 
and  engaged  Mr.  Poppleton  for  a  moment, 
he  rose,  and  crossed  the  little  room  to  Octa- 
via's  side. 

"  I  must  bid  you  good-afternoon,"  he  said. 

Octavia  did  not  rise. 

"  Sit  down  a  minute,  while  aunt  Belinda 
is  talking  about  red-flannel  nightcaps  and 
lumbago,"  she  said.  "  I  wanted  to  ask  you 
something.  By  the  way,  what  is  lumbago  ?  " 

"Is  that  what  you  wished  to  ask  me?" 
he  inquired  stiffly. 

"  No.  I  just  thought  of  that.  Have  you 
ever  had  it  ?  and  what  is  it  like  ?  All  the  old 
people  in  Slowbridge  have  it,  and  they  tell 
all  about  it  when  you  go  to  see  them. 


192  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

Aunt  Belinda  says  so.     What  I  wanted  to 
ask  you  was  different  "  — 

"  Possibly  Miss  Bassett  might  be  able  to 
tell  you,"  he  remarked. 

"  About  the  lumbago  ?  Well,  perhaps  she 
might.  I'll  ask  her.  Do  you  think  it  bad 
taste  in  me  to  wear  diamonds  ?  " 

She  said  this  with  the  most  delightful 
seriousness,  fixing  her  eyes  upon  him  with 
her  very  prettiest  look  of  candid  appeal,  as 
if  it  were  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world 
that  she  should  apply  to  him  for  information. 
He  felt  himself  faltering  again.  How  white 
that  bit  of  forehead  was!  How  soft  that 
blonde,  waving  fringe  of  hair!  What  a 
lovely  shape  her  eyes  were,  and  how  large 
and  clear  as  she  raised  them ! 

"  Why  do  you  ask  me  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  Because  I  think  you  are  an  unprejudiced 
person.  Lady  Theobald  is  not.  I  have  con 
fidence  in  you.  Tell  me." 

There  was  a  slight  pause. 

"  Really,"  he  said,  after  it,  "  I  can  scarcely 
believe  that  my  opinion  can  be  of  any  value 
in  your  eyes.  I  am  —  can  only  tell  you  that 
it  is  hardly  customary  in  —  an  —  in  England 


PECULIAR   TO  NEVADA.  193 

for   young   people   to    wear   a   profusion    of 
ornament." 

"  I  wonder  if  I  wear  a  profusion." 

"You  don't  need  any,"  he  condescended. 
"  You  are  too  young,  and  —  all  that  sort  of 
thing." 

She  glanced  down  at  her  slim,  unringed 
hands  for  a  moment,  her  expression  quite 
thoughtful. 

"  Lucia  and  I  almost  quarrelled  the  other 
day,"  she  said  —  "at  least,  I  almost  quar 
relled.  It  isn't  so  nice  to  be  told  of  things, 
after  all.  I  must  say  I  don't  like  it  as  much 
as  I  thought  I  should." 

He  kept  his  seat  longer  than  he  had  in 
tended  ;  and,  when  he  rose  to  go,  the  Rev. 
Arthur  Poppletoii  was  shaking  hands  with 
Miss  Belinda,  and  so  it  fell  ouirthat  they  left 
the  house  together. 

"  You  know  Miss  Octavia  Bassett  well,  I 
suppose,"  remarked  Barold,  with  condescen 
sion,  as  they  passed  through  the  gate.  "  You 
clergymen  are  fortunate  fellows." 

"  I  wish  that  others  knew  her  as  well,  sir," 
said  the  little  gentleman,  kindling.  "  I  wish 
they  knew  her  —  her  generosity  and  kind- 


194  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

ness  of  heart  and  ready  sympathy  with  mis 
fortune  ! " 

"Ah!"  commented  Mr.  Barold,  twisting 
his  mustache  with  somewhat  of  an  incredu 
lous  air.  This  was  not  at  all  the  sort  of  thing 
he  had  expected  to  hear.  For  his  own  part, 
it  would  not  have  occurred  to  him  to  suspect 
her  of  the  possession  of  such  desirable  and 
orthodox  qualities. 

"  There  are  those  who  —  misunderstand 
her,"  cried  the  curate,  warming  with  his 
subject,  "  who  misunderstand,  and  —  yes, 
and  apply  harsh  terms  to  her  innocent 
gayety  and  freedom  of  speech:  if  they  knew 
her  as  I  do,  they  would  cease  to  do  so." 

u  I  should  scarcely  have  thought  "  —  began 
Barold. 

"  There  are*many  who  scarcely  think  it,  — 
if  you  will  pardon  my  interrupting  you," 
said  the  curate.  "  I  think  they  would  scarcely 
believe  it  if  I  felt  at  liberty  to  tell  them, 
which  I  regret  to  say  I  do  not.  I  am 
almost  breaking  my  word  in  saying  what  I 
cannot  help  saying  to  yourself.  The  poor 
under  my  care  are  better  off  since  she  came, 
and  there  are  some  who  have  heen  her  more 


PECULIAR   TO  NEVADA.  195 

than  once,  though  she  did  not  go  as  a  teacher 
or  to  reprove  them  for  faults ;  and  her  way 
of  doing  what  she  did  was  new  to  them,  and 
perhaps  much  less  serious  than  they  were 
accustomed  to,  and  they  liked  it  all  the 
better." 

"  Ah !  "  commented  Barold  again.  "  Flan 
nel  under-garments,  and  —  that  sort  of 
thing." 

"No,"  with,  much  spirit,  "not  at  all,  sir; 
but  what,  as  I  said,  they  liked  much  better. 
It  is  not  often  they  meet  a  beautiful  creature 
who  comes  among  them  with  open  hands, 
and  the  natural,  ungrudging  way  of  giving 
which  she  has.  Sometimes  they  are  at  a  loss 
to  understand,  as  well  as  the  rest.  They  have 
been  used  to  what  is  narrower  and  more  — 
more  exacting." 

"  They  have  been  used  to  Lady  Theobald," 
observed  Barold,  with  a  faint  smile. 

"  It  would  not  become  me  to  —  to  mention 
Lady  Theobald  in  any  disparaging  manner," 
replied  the  curate ;  "  but  the  best  and  most 
charitable  among  us  do  not  always  carry  out 
our  good  intentions  in  the  best  way.  I  dare 
say  Lady  Theobald  would  consider  Miss 


196  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

Octavia  Bassett  too  readily  influenced  and 
too  lavish." 

"She  is  as  generous  with  her  money  as 
with  her  diamonds  perhaps,"  said  Barold. 
"  Possibly  the  quality  is  peculiar  to  Nevada. 
We  part  here,  Mr.  Poppleton,  I  believe. 
Good-morning." 


LORD  LANSDOWNE.  197 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

LOUD    LANSDOWKE. 

ONE  morning  in  the  following  week  Mrs. 
Burnham  attired  herself  in  her  second-best 
black  silk,  and,  leaving  the  Misses  Burnham 
practising  diligently,  turned  her  steps  toward 
Oldclough  Hall.  Arriving  there,  she  was 
ushered  into  the  blue  drawing-room  by  Dob- 
son,  in  his  character  of  footman;  and  in  a 
few  minutes  Lucia  appeared. 

When  Mrs.  Burnham  saw  her,  she  assumed 
a  slight  air  of  surprise. 

"  Why,  my  dear,"  she  said,  as  she  shook 
hands,  "  I  should  scarcely  have  known  you." 

And,  though  this  was  something  of  an 
exaggeration,  there  was  some  excuse  for  the 
exclamation.  Lucia  was  looking  very  charm 
ing,  and  several  changes  might  be  noted  in 
her  attire  and  appearance.  The  ugly  twist 
had  disappeared  from  her  delicate  head  ;  and 
in  its  place  were  soft,  loose  waves  and  light 


198  A   FAIR  BAEBARIAN. 

puffs ;  she  had  even  ventured  on  allowing  a 
few  ringed  locks  to  stray  on  to  her  forehead ; 
her  white  morning-dress  no  longer  wore  the 
trade-mark  of  Miss  Chickie,  but  had  been 
remodelled  by  some  one  of  more  taste. 

"  What  a  pretty  gown,  my  dear !  "  said 
Mrs.  Burnham,  glancing  at  it  curiously. 
"  A  Watteau  plait  down  the  back  —  isivt  it 
a  Watteau  plait  ?  —  and  little  ruffles  down 
the  front,  and  pale  pink  bows.  It  is  quite 
like  some  of  Miss  Octavia  Bassett's  dresses, 
only  not  so  over-trimmed." 

"  I  do  not  think  Octavia's  dresses  would 
seem  over-trimmed  if  she  wore  them  in  Lon 
don  or  Paris,"  said  Lucia  bravely.  "It  is 
only  because  we  are  so  very  quiet,  and  dress 
so  little  in  Slowbridge,  that  they  seem  so." 

"  And  your  hair  !  "  remarked  Mrs.  Burn- 
ham.  "You  drew  your  idea  of  that  from 
some  style  of  hers,  I  suppose.  Very  be 
coming,  indeed.  Well,  well !  And  how 
does  Lady  Theobald  like  all  this,  my 
dear  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  "  —  Lucia  was  be 
ginning,  when  her  ladyship  interrupted  her 
by  entering. 


LORD   LANSDOWNi:.  199 

"  My  dear  Lady  Theobald,"  cried  her  vis 
itor,  rising,  "I  hope  you  are  well.  I  have 
just  been  complimenting  Lucia  upon  her 
pretty  dress,  and  her  new  style  of  dressing 
her  hair.  Miss  Octavia  Bassett  has  been 
giving  her  the  benefit  of  her  experience,  it 
appears.  We  have  not  been  doing  her 
justice.  Who  would  have  believed  that 
she  had  come  from  Nevada  to  improve  us  ?  " 

"Miss  Octavia  Bassett,"  said  my  lady 
sonorously,  "  has  come  from  Nevada  to  teach 
our  young  people  a  great  many  things,  — 
new  fashions  in  duty,  and  demeanor,  and 
respect  for  their  elders.  Let  us  hope  they 
will  be  benefited." 

"  If  you  will  excuse  me,  grandmamma," 
said  Lucia,  speaking  in  a  soft,  steady  voice, 
"  I  will  go  and  write  the  letters  you  wished 
written." 

"  Go,"  said  my  lady  with  majesty ;  and, 
having  bidden  Mrs.  Burnham  good-morning, 
Lucia  went. 

If  Mrs.  Burnham  had  expected  any  ex 
planation  of  her  ladyship's  evident  displeas 
ure,  she  was  doomed  to  disappointment. 
That  excellent  and  rigorous  gentlewoman 


200  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

had  a  stern  sense  of  dignity,  which  forbade 
her  condescending  to  the  confidential  weak 
ness  of  mere  ordinary  mortals.  Instead  of 
referring  to  Lucia,  she  broached  a  more 
commonplace  topic. 

"  I  hope  your  rheumatism  does  not  threat 
en  you  again,  Mrs.  Burnham,"  she  remarked. 

"I  am  very  well,  thank  you,  my  dear," 
said  Mrs.  Burnham;  "so  well,  that  I  am 
thinking  quite  seriously  of  taking  the  dear 
girls  to  the  garden-party,  when  it  comes 
off." 

"  To  the  garden-party  !  "  repeated  her  lady 
ship.  "  May  I  ask  who  thinks  of  giving  a 
garden-party  in  Slowbridge  ?  " 

"  It  is  no  one  in  Slowbridge,"  replied  this 
lady  cheerfully.  "  Some  one  who  lives  a 
little  out  of  Slowbridge,  —  Mr.  Burmistone, 
my  dear  Lady  Theobald,  at  his  new  place." 

"  Mr.  Burmistone  !  " 

"  Yes,  my  dear ;  and  a  most  charming  affair 
it  is  to  be,  if  we  are  to  believe  all  we  hear. 
Surely  you  have  heard  something  of  it  from 
Mr.  Barold." 

"Mr.  Barold  has  not  been  to  Oldclough 
for  several  days." 


LORD  LANSDOWNE.  201 

"  Then,  he  will  tell  you  when  he  comes  ; 
for  I  suppose  he  has  as  much  to  do  with  it 
as  Mr.  Burmistone." 

"I  have  heard  before,"  announced  my 
lady,  "of  men  of  Mr.  Burmistone's  class 
securing  the  services  of  persons  of  estab 
lished  position  in  society  when  they  wished 
to  spend  their  money  upon  entertainments ; 
but  I  should  scarcely  have  imagined  that 
Francis  Bar  old  would  have  allowed  himself 
to  be  made  a  party  to  such  a  transaction." 

"  But,"  put  in  Mrs.  Burnham  rather 
eagerly,  "  it  appears  that  Mr.  Burmistone  is 
not  such  an  obscure  person,  after  all.  He  is 
an  Oxford  man,  and  came  off  with  honors : 
he  is  quite  a  well-born  man,  and  gives  this 
entertainment  in  honor  of  his  friend  and  re 
lation,  Lord  Lansdowne." 

"  Lord  Lansdowne !  "  echoed  her  ladyship, 
sternly. 

"Son  of  the  Marquis  of  Lauderdale,  whose 
wife  was  Lady  Honora  Erroll." 

"  Did  Mr.  Burmistone  give  you  this  infor 
mation  ?  "  asked  Lady  Theobald  with  ironic 
calmness. 

Mrs.  Burnham  colored  never  so  faintly. 


202  A   FAIE   BAEBAEIAN. 

"I  —  that  is  to  say  —  there  is  a  sort  of 
acquaintance  between  one  of  my  maids  and 
the  butler  at  the  Burmistone  place ;  and, 
when  the  girl  was  doing  Lydia's  hair,  she 
told  her  the  story.  Lord  Lansdowne  and 
his  father  are  quite  fond  of  Mr.  Burmistone, 
it  is  said." 

"  It  seems  rather  singular  to  my  mind  that 
we  should  not  have  known  of  this  before." 

"  But  how  should  we  learn?  We  none  of 
us  know  Lord  Lansdowne,  or  even  the  mar 
quis.  I  think  he  is  only  a  second  or  third 
cousin.  We  are  a  little  —  just  a  little  set  in 
Slowbridge,  you  know,  my  dear :  at  least,  I 
have  thought  so  sometimes  lately." 

"  I  must  confess,"  remarked  my  lady, 
"that  /  have  not  regarded  the  matter  in 
that  light." 

"  That  is  because  you  have  a  better  right 
to  —  to  be  a  little  set  than  the  rest  of  us," 
was  the  amiable  response. 

Lady  Theobald  did  not  disclaim  the  privi 
lege.  She  felt  the  sentiment  an  extremely 
correct  one.  But  she  was  not  very  warm  in 
her  manner  during  the  remainder  of  the  call  ,* 
and,  incongruous  as  such  a  statement  may 


LORD  LANSDOWNE.  203 

appear,  it  must  be  confessed  that  she  felt 
that  Miss  Octavia  Bassett  must  have  some 
thing  to  do  with  these  defections  on  all 
sides,  and  that  garden-parties,  and  all  such 
swervings  from  established  Slowbridge  cus 
tom,  were  the  natural  result  of  Nevada  fri 
volity  and  freedom  of  manners.  It  may  be 
that  she  felt  remotely  that  even  Lord  Lans- 
downe  and  the  Marquis  of  Lauderdale  were 
to  be  referred  to  the  same  reprehensible 
cause,  and  that,  but  for  Octavia  Bassett,  Mr. 
Burmistone  would  not  have  been  educated 
at  Oxford  and  have  come  off  with  honors, 
and  have  turned  out  to  be  related  to  respect 
able  people,  but  would  have  remained  in 
appropriate  obscurity. 

"  I  suppose,"  she  said  afterward  to  Lucia, 
"that  your  friend  Miss  Octavia  Bassett  is  in 
Mr.  Burmistone's  confidence,  if  no  one  else 
has  been  permitted  to  have  that  honor.  I 
have  no  doubt  she  has  known  of  this  ap 
proaching  entertainment  for  some  weeks." 

"I  do  not  know,  grandmamma,"  replied 
Lucia,  putting  her  letters  together,  and  gam 
ing  color  as  she  bent  over  them.  She  was 
wondering,  with  inward  trepidation,  what  her 


204  A  FAIE  BARBARIAN. 

ladyship  would  say  if  she  knew  the  whole 
truth,  —  if  she  knew  that  it  was  her  grand 
daughter,  and  not  Octavia  Basse tt,  who 
enjoyed  Mr.  Burmistone's  confidence. 

"  Ah !  "  she  thought,  "  how  could  I  ever  dare 
to  tell  her?" 

The  same  day  Francis  Barold  sauntered 
up  to  pay  them  a  visit;  and  then,  as  Mrs. 
Burnham  had  prophesied,  Lady  Theobald 
heard  all  she  wished  to  hear,  and,  indeed,  a 
great  deal  more. 

"What  is  this  I  am  told  of  Mr.  Burmi- 
stone,  Francis  ?  "  she  inquired.  "  That  he 
intends  to  give  a  garden-party,  and  that  Lord 
Lansdowne  is  to  be  one  of  the  guests,  and 
that  he  has  caused  it  to  be  circulated  that 
they  are  cousins." 

"  That  Lansdowne  has  caused  it  to  be 
circulated  —  or  Burmistone  ?  " 

"It  is  scarcely  likely  that  Lord  Lans 
downe  "  — 

"Beg  pardon,"  he  interrupted,  fixing  his 
single  glass  dexterously  in  his  right  eye,  and 
gazing  at  her  ladyship  through  it.  "  Can't 
see  why  Lansdowne  should  object.  Fact  is, 
he  is  a  great  deal  fonder  of  Burmistone  than 


LORD  LANSDOWNE.  205 

relations  usually  are  of  each  other.  Now,  I 
often  find  that  kind  of  thing  a  bore ;  but 
Lansdowne  doesn't  seem  to.  They  were  at 
school  together,  it  seems,  and  at  Oxford  too ; 
and  Burmistone  is  supposed  to  have  behaved 
pretty  well  towards  Lansdowne  at  one  time, 
when  he  was  rather  a  wild  fellow  —  so  the 
father  and  mother  say.  As  to  Burmistone 
'causing  it  to  be  circulated,'  that  sort  of 
thing  is  rather  absurd.  The  man  isn't  a  cad, 
you  know." 

"Pray  don't  say  'you  know,'  Francis,"  said 
her  ladyship.  "  I  know  very  little  but  what 
I  have  chanced  to  see,  and  I  must  confess  I 
have  not  been  prepossessed  in  Mr.  Burmi- 
stone's  favor.  Why  did  he  not  choose  to 
inform  us  "  — 

"That  he  was, Lord  Lansdowne's  second 
cousin,  and  knew  the  Marquis  of  Lauderdale, 
grandmamma  ?  "  broke  in  Lucia,  with  very 
pretty  spirit.  "Would  that  have  prepos 
sessed  you  in  his  favor  ?  Would  you  have 
forgiven  him  for  building  the  mills,  on  Lord 
Lansdowne's  account?  I  —  I  wish  I  was 
related  to  a  marquis,"  which  was  very  bold 
indeed. 


206  A   FATE  BAEBAEIAN. 

"May  I  ask,"  said  her  ladyship,  in  her 
most  monumental  manner,  "  when  you  be 
came  Mr.  Burmistone's  champion  ?  " 


11  YOU  HAVE  MADE  IT  LIVELIER."      207 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

"YOU    HAVE   MADE   IT   LIVELIER." 

WHEN  she  had  become  Mr.  Burmistone's 
champion,  indeed  !  She  could  scarcely  have 
told  when,  unless,  perhaps,  she  had  fixed  the 
date  at  the  first  time  she  had  heard  his  name 
introduced  at  a  high  tea,  with  every  politely 
opprobrious  epithet  affixed.  She  had  de 
fended  him  in  her  own  mind  then,  and  felt 
sure  that  he  deserved  very  little  that  was 
said  against  him,  and  very  likely  nothing  -at 
all.  And,  the  first  time  she  had  seen  and 
spoken  to  him,  she  had  been  convinced  that 
she  had  not  made  a  mistake,  and  that  he 
had  been  treated  with  cruel  injustice.  How 
kind  he  was,  how  manly,  how  clever,  and 
how  well  he  bore  himself  under  the  popular 
adverse  criticism  !  She  only  wondered  that 
anybody  could  be  so  blind  and  stupid  and 
wilful  as  to  assail  him. 

And  if  this  had  been   the    case   in   those 


208  A  FAIR  BAEEAEIAN. 

early  days,  imagine  what  she  felt  now,  when 
—  ah,  well! — when  her  friendship  had  had 
time  and  opportunity  to  become  a  much 
deeper  sentiment.  Must  it  be  confessed  that 
she  had  seen  Mr.  Burmistone  even  oftener 
than  Octavia  and  Miss  Belinda  knew  of? 
Of  course  it  had  all  been  quite  accidental; 
but  it  had  happened  that  now  and  then,  when 
she  had  been  taking  a  quiet  walk  in  the  lanes 
about  Oldclough,  she  had  encountered  a  gen 
tleman,  who  had  dismounted,  and  led  his 
horse  -by  the  bridle,  as  he  sauntered  by  her 
side.  She  had  always  been  very  timid  at 
such  times,  and  had  felt  rather  like  a  crimi 
nal;  but  Mr.  Burmistone  had  not  been 
timid  at  all,  and  would,  indeed,  as  soon 
have  met  Lady  Theobald  as  not,  for  which 
courage  his  companion  admired  him  more 
than  ever.  It  was  not  very  long  before  to 
be  with  this  hero  re-assured  her,  and  made 
her  feel  stronger  and  more  self-reliant.  She 
was  never  afraid  to  open  her  soft  little  heart 
to  him,  and  show  him  innocently  all  its 
goodness,  and  ignorance  of  worldliness.  She 
warmed  and  brightened  under  his  kindly 
influence,  and  was  often  surprised  in  secret 


"FOC7  HAVE  MADE  IT  LIVELIER."      209 

at  her  own  simple  readiness  of  wit  and 
speech. 

"  It  is  odd  that  I  am  such  a  different  girl 
when  —  when  I  am  with  you,"  she  said  to 
him  one  day.  "  I  even  make  little  jokes.  I 
never  should  think  of  making  even  the 
tiniest  joke  before  grandmamma.  Somehow, 
she  never  seems  quite  to  understand  jokes. 
She  never  laughs  at  them.  You  always 
laugh,  and  I  am  sure  it  is  very  kind  of  you  to 
encourage  me  so  ;  but  you  must  not  encour 
age  me  too  much,  or  I  might  forget,  and 
make  a  little  joke  at  dinner,  and  I  think,  if 
I  did,  she  would  choke  over  her  soup." 

Perhaps,  when  she  dressed  her  hair,  and 
adorned  herself  with  pale  pink  bows  and 
like  appurtenances,  this  artful  young  person 
had  privately  in  mind  other  beholders  than 
Mrs.  Burnham,  and  other  commendation 
than  that  to  be  bestowed  by  that  most 
excellent  matron. 

"Do  you  mind  my  telling  you   that  you 

have  put  on  an  enchanted  garment?"   said 

Mr.    Burmistone,    the    first    time    they   met 

when  she  wore  one  of  the    old-new  gowns. 

'  "  I  thought  I  knew  before  how  v  — 


210  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"I  don't  mind  it  at  all,"  said  Lucia, 
blushing  brilliantly.  "  I  rather  like  it.  It 
rewards  me  for  my  industry.  My  hair  is 
dressed  in  a  new  way.  I  hope  you  like  that 
too.  Grandmamma  does  not." 

It  had  been  Lady  Theobald's  habit  to 
treat  Lucia  severely  from  a  sense  of  duty. 
Her  manner  toward  her  had  always  rather 
the  tone  of  implying  that  she  was  naturally 
at  fault,  and  yet  her  ladyship  could  not  have 
told  wherein  she  wished  the  girl  changed. 
In  the  good  old  school  in  which  my  lady  had 
been  trained,  it  was  customary  to  regard 
young  people  as  weak,  foolish,  and,  if  left  to 
their  own  desires,  frequently  sinful.  Lucia 
had  not  been  left  to  her  own  desires.  She 
had  been  taught  to  view  herself  as  rather  a 
bad  case,  and  to  feel  that  she  was  far  from 
being  what  her  relatives  had  a  right  to 
expect.  To  be  thrown  with  a  person  who 
did  not  find  her  silly  or  dull  or  common 
place,  was  a  new  experience. 

"  If  I  had  been  clever,"  Lucia  said  once 
to  Mr.  Burmistone,  —  "  if  I  had  been  clever, 
perhaps  grandmamma  would  have  been  more 
satisfied  with  me.  I  have  often  wished  I 
had  been  clever." 


"YOU  HAVE  MADE  IT  LIVELIER."      211 

"If  you  had  been  a  boy,"  replied  Mr. 
Burmistone  rather  grimly,  "and  had  squan 
dered  her  money,  and  run  into  debt,  and 
bullied  her,  you  would  have  been  her  idol, 
and  she  would  have  pinched  and  starved 
herself  to  supply  your  highness's  extrava 
gance." 

When  the  garden-party  rumor  began  to 
take  definite  form,  and  there  was  no  doubt 
as  to  Mr.  Burmistone's  intentions,  a  discus 
sion  arose  at  once,  and  went  on  in  every 
genteel  parlor.  Would  Lady  Theobald  allow 
Lucia  to  go  ?  and,  if  she  did  not  allow  her, 
would  not  such  a  course  appear  very  pointed 
indeed?  It  was  universally  decided  that  it 
would  appear  pointed,  but  that  Lady  Theo 
bald  would  not  mind  that  in  the  least,  and 
perhaps  would  rather  enjoy  it  than  other 
wise  ;  and  it  was  thought  Lucia  would  not  go. 
And  it  is  very  likely  that  Lucia  would  have 
remained  at  home,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
influence  of  Mr.  Francis  Barold. 

Making  a  call  at  Oldclough,  he  found  his 
august  relative  in  a  very  majestic  mood, 
and  she  applied  to  him  again  for  informa 
tion. 


212  A   FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  Perhaps,"  she  said,  "  you  ma}'  be  able 
to  tell  me  whether  it  is  true  that  Belinda 
Bassett  —  Belinda  Bassett,"  with  emphasis, 
"has  been  invited  by  Mr.  Burmistone  to 
assist  him  to  receive  his  guests." 

"  Yes,  it  is  true,"  was  the  reply  :  "  I  think 
I  advised  it  myself.  Burmistone  is  fond  of 
her.  They  are  great  friends.  Man  needs 
a  woman  at  such  times." 

"  And  he  chose  Belinda  Bassett  ?  " 

"  In  the  first  place,  he  is  on  friendly  terms 
with  her,  as  I  said  before,"  replied  Barold ; 
"  in  the  second,  she's  just  what  he  wants  — 
well-bred,  kind-hearted,  not  likely  to  make 
rows,  et  ccetera"  There  was  a  slight  pause 
before  he  finished,  adding  quietly,  "He's 
not  the  man  to  submit  to  being  refused  — 
Burmistone." 

Lady  Theobald  did  not  reply,  or  raise  her 
eyes  from  her  work :  she  knew  he  was  look 
ing  at  her  with  calm  fixedness,  through  the 
glass  he  held  in  its  place  so  cleverly ;  and 
she  detested  this  more  than  any  thing  else, 
perhaps  because  she  was  invariably  quelled 
by  it,  and  found  she  had  nothing  to  say. 

He  did  not  address  her  again  immediately, 


"YOU  HAVE  MADE  IT  LIVELIER."      213 

but  turned  to  Lucia,  dropping  the  eyeglass, 
and  resuming  his  normal  condition. 

"  You  will  go,  of  course  ?  "  he  said. 

Lucia  glanced  across  at  my  lady. 

"I  —  do  not  know.     Grandmamma "  — 

"  Oh !  "  interposed  Barold,  "  you  must  go. 
There  is  no  reason  for  your  refusing  the 
invitation,  unless  you  wish  to  imply  some 
thing  unpleasant  —  which  is,  of  course,  out 
of  the  question." 

"  But  there  may  be  reasons  "  —  began  her 
ladyship. 

"  Burmistone  is  my  friend,"  put  in  Barold, 
in  his  coolest  tone  ;  "  and  I  am  your  rela 
tive,  which  would  make  my  position  in  his 
house  a  delicate  one,  if  he  has  offended 
you." 

When  Lucia  saw  Octavia  again,  she  was 
able  to  tell  her  that  they  had  received  invi 
tations  to  the  fete,  and  that  Lady  Theobald 
had  accepted  them. 

"She  has  not  spoken  a  word  to  me  about 
it,  but  she  has  accepted  them,"  said  Lucia. 
"I  don't  quite  understand  her  lately,  Octa 
via.  She  must  be  very  fond  of  Francis 
Barold.  He  never  gives  way  to  her  in  the 


214  A    FAIR   BARBARIAN. 

least,  and  she  always  seems  to  submit  to 
him.  I  know  she  would  not  have  let  me 
go,  if  he  had  not  insisted  on  it,  in  that 
taking-it-for-gr anted  way  of  his." 

Naturally  Mr.  Burmistone's  fete  caused 
great  excitement.  Miss  Chickie  was  never 
so  busy  in  her  life,  and  there  were  rumors 
that  her  feelings  had  been  outraged  by  the 
discovery  that  Mrs.  Burnham  had  sent  to 
Harriford  for  costumes  for  her  daugh 
ters. 

"Slowbridge  is  changing,  mem,"  said 
Miss  Chickie,  with  brilliant  sarcasm.  "  Our 
ladies  is  led  in  their  fashions  by  a  Nevada 
young  person.  We're  improving  most  rapid 
—  more  rapid  than  I'd  ever  have  dared  to 
hope.  Do  you  prefer  a  frill,  or  a  flounce, 
mem?" 

Octavia  was  in  great  good  spirits  at  the 
prospect  of  the  gayeties  in  question.  She 
had  been  in  remarkably  good  spirits  for 
some  weeks.  She  had  received  letters  from 
Nevada,  containing  good  news  she  said. 
Shares  had  gone  up  again ;  and  her  father 
had  almost  settled  his  affairs,  and  it  would 
not  be  long  before  he  would  come  to  Eng- 


"YOU  HAVE  MADE  IT  LIVELIER."      215 

land.  She  looked  so  exhilarated  over  the 
matter,  that  Lucia  felt  a  little  aggrieved. 

"  Will  you  be  so  glad  to  leave  us,  Octa- 
via  ?  "  she  asked.  "  We  shall  not  be  so  glad 
to  let  you  go.  We  have  grown  very  fond 
of  you." 

"  I  shall  be  sorry  to  leave  you,  and  aunt 
Belinda  is  going  with  us.  You  don't  expect 
me  to  be  very  fond  of  Slowbridge,  do  you, 
and  to  be  sorry  I  can't  take  Mrs.  Burnham 
—  and  the  rest?" 

Barold  was  present  when  she  made  this 
speech,  and  it  rather  rankled. 

"  Am  I  one  of  4  the  rest '  ?  "  he  inquired, 
the  first  time  he  found  himself  alone  with 
her.  He  was  sufficiently  piqued  to  forget 
his  usual  hauteur  and  discretion. 

"  Would  you  like  to  be  ?  "  she  said. 

"  Oh  !  Very  much  —  very  much  —  natu 
rally,"  he  replied  severely. 

They  were  standing  near  a  rose-bush  in 
the  garden ;  and  she  plucked  a  rose,  and  re 
garded  it  with  deep  interest. 

"Well,"  she  said,  next,  "I  must  say  I 
think  I  shouldn't  have  had  such  a  good 
time  if  you  hadn't  been  here.  You  have 
made  it  livelier." 


216  .1    FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

"  Tha-anks,"  he  remarked.  "  You  are  most 
kind." 

"  Oh  !  "  she  answered,  "  it's  true.  If  it 
wasn't,  I  shouldn't  say  it.  You  and  Mr. 
Burmistone  and  Mr.  Poppleton  have  cer 
tainly  made  it  livelier." 

He  went  home  in  such  a  bad  humor  that 
his  host,  who  was  rather  happier  than  usual, 
commented  upon  his  grave  aspect  at  dinner. 

"You  look  as  if  you  had  heard  ill  news, 
old  fellow,"  he  said.  "  What's  up  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing ! "  he  was  answered  sar 
donically  ;  "  nothing  whatever  —  unless  that 
I  have  been  rather  snubbed  by  a  young  lady 
from  Nevada." 

"Ah!"  with  great  seriousness:  "that's 
rather  cool,  isn't  it?  " 

"It's  her  little  way,"  said  Barold.  "It 
seems  to  be  one  of  the  customs  of  Nevada." 

In  fact,  he  was  very  savage  indeed.  He 
felt  that  he  had  condescended  a  good  deal 
lately.  He  seldom  bestowed  his  time  on 
women  ;  and  when  he  did  so,  at  rare  intervals, 
he  chose  those  who  would  do  the  most  honor 
to  his  taste  at  the  least  cost  of  trouble.  And 
he  was  obliged  to  confess  to  himself  that  he 


"YOU  HAVE  MADE  IT  LIVELIER."      217 

had  broken  Ms  rule  in  this  case.  Upon  ana 
lyzing  his  motives  and  necessities,  he  found, 
that,  after  all,  he  must  have  extended  his 
visit  simply  because  he  chose  to  see  more  of 
this  young  woman  from  Nevada,  and  that 
really,  upon  the  whole,  he  had  borne  a  good 
deal  from  her.  Sometimes  he  had  been 
much  pleased  with  her,  and  very  well  enter 
tained;  but  often  enough  —  in  fact,  rather 
too  often  —  she  had  made  him  exceedingly 
uncomfortable.  Her  manners  were  not  what 
he  was  accustomed  to :  she  did  not  consider 
that  all  men  were  not  to  be  regarded  from 
the  same  point  of  view.  Perhaps  he  did  not 
put  into  definite  words  the  noble  arid  pat 
riotic  sentiment  that  an  Englishman  was  not 
to  be  regarded  from  the  same  point  of  view 
as  an  American,  and  that,  though  all  this 
sort  of  thing  might  do  with  fellows  in  New 
York,  it  was  scarcely  what  an  Englishman 
would  stand.  Perhaps,  as  I  say,  he  had  not 
put  this  sentiment  into  words ;  but  it  is  quite 
certain  that  it  had  been  uppermost  in  his 
mind  upon  more  occasions  than  one.  As  he 
thought  their  acquaintance  over,  this  even 
ing,  he  was  rather  severe  upon  Octavia.  He 


218  A   FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

even  was  roused  so  far  as  to  condescend  to 
talk  her  over  with  Bur  mis  tone. 

"If  she  had  been  well  brought  up,"  he 
said,  "she  would  have  been  a  different 
creature." 

"Very  different,  I  have  no  doubt,"  said 
Burmistone  thoughtfully.  "  When  you  say 
well  brought  up,  by  the  way,  do  }~ou  mean 
brought  up  like  your  cousin,  Miss  Gaston  ?  " 

"There  is  a  medium,"  said  Barold  loftily. 
"  I  regret  to  say  Lady  Theobald  has  not  hit 
upon  it." 

"  Well,  as  you  say,"  commented  Mr.  Bur 
mistone,  "  I  suppose  there  is  a  medium." 

"  A  charming  wife  she  would  make,  for  a 
man  with  a  position  to  maintain,"  remarked 
Barold,  with  a  short  and  somewhat  savage 
laugh. 

"  Octavia  Bassett?"  queried  Burmistone. 
"  That's  true.  But  I  am  afraid  she  wouldn't 
enjoy  it  —  if  you  are  supposing  the  man  to 
be  an  Englishman,  brought  up  in  the  regula 
tion  groove." 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  Barold  impatiently: 
"  I  was  not  looking  at  it  from  her  point  of 
view,  but  from  his." 


"YOU  HAVE  MADE  IT  LIVELIER."      219 

Mr.  Burmistone  slipped  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  and  jingled  his  keys  slightly,  as  he 
did  once  before  in  an  earlier  part  of  this 
narrative. 

"  Ah  !  from  his,"  he  repeated.  "  Not  from 
hers.  His  point  of  view  would  differ  from 
hers  —  naturally." 

Barold  flushed  a  little,  and  took  his  cigar 
from  his  mouth  to  knock  off  the  ashes. 

"A  man  is  not  necessarily  a  snob,"  he 
said,  "  because  he  is  cool  enough  not  to  lose 
his  head  where  a  woman  is  concerned.  You 
can't  marry  a  woman  who  will  make  mis 
takes,  and  attract  universal  attention  by  her 
conduct." 

"  Has  it  struck  you  that  Octavia  Bassett 
would  ?  "  inquired  Burmistone. 

"  She  would  do  as  she  chose,"  said  Barold 
petulantly.  "She  would  do  things  which 
were  unusual ;  but  I  was  not  referring  to 
her  in  particular.  Why  should  I  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Burmistone.  "  I  only  thought 
of  her  because  it  did  not  strike  me  that  one 
would  ever  feel  she  had  exactly  blundered. 
She  is  not  easily  embarrassed.  There  is  a 
sang-froid  about  her  which  carries  things  off." 


220  A  FAIE  BAEBARIAN. 

"Ah!"  deigned  Barold:  "she  lias  sang 
froid  enough  and  to  spare." 

He  was  silent  for  some  time  afterward,  and 
sat  smoking  later  than  usual.  When  he  was 
about  to  leave  the  room  for  the  night,  he 
made  an  announcement  for  which  his  host 
was  not  altogether  prepared. 

"  When  the  fete  is  over,  my  dear  fellow," 
he  said,  "  I  must  go  back  to  London,  and  I 
shall  be  deucedly  sorry  to  do  it." 

"  Look  here  !  "  said  Burmistone,  "  that's  a 
new  idea,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  No,  an  old  one ;  but  I  have  been  putting 
the  thing  off  from  day  to  day.  By  Jove  !  I 
did  not  think  it  likely  that  1  should  put  it 
off,  the  day  I  landed  here." 

And  he  laughed  rather  uneasily. 


i  GO?"  221 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

44  MAY  I  GO  ?  " 

THE  very  day  after  this,  Octavia  opened 
the  fourth  trunk.  She  had  had  it  brought 
down  from  the  garret,  when  there  came  a 
summons  on  the  door,  and  Lucia  Gaston  ap 
peared. 

Lucia  was  very  pale ;  and  her  large,  soft 
eyes  wore  a  decidedly  frightened  look.  She 
seemed  to  have  walked  fast,  and  was  out  of 
breath.  Evidently  something  had  happened. 

"  Octavia,"  she  said,  "  Mr.  Dugald  Binnie 
is  at  Oldclough." 

44  Who  is  he  ?  " 

44  He  is  my  grand-uncle,"  explained  Lucia 
tremulously.  44  He  has  a  great  deal  of  money. 
Grandmamma  "  —  She  stopped  short,  and 
colored,  and  drew  her  slight  figure  up.  44 1 
do  not  quite  understand  grandmamma,  Oc 
tavia,"  she  said.  44  Last  night  she  came  to 
my  room  to  talk  to  me  ;  and  this  morning 


222  A   FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

she  came  again,  and  —  oh !  "  she  broke  out 
indignantly,  "  how  could  she  speak  to  me  in 
such  a  manner  !  " 

"  What  did  she  say  ?  "  inquired  Octa- 
via. 

"  She  said  a  great  many  things,"  with 
great  spirit.  "  It  took  her  a  long  time  to 
say  them,  and  I  do  not  wonder  at  it.  It 
would  have  taken  me  a  hundred  years,  if  I 
had  been  in  her  place.  I  —  I  was  wrong  to 
say  I  did  not  understand  her :  I  did  —  be 
fore  she  had  finished." 

"  What  did  you  understand  ?  " 

"  She  was  afraid  to  tell  me  in  plain  words. 
—  I  never  saw  her  afraid  before,  but  she  was 
afraid.  She  has  been  arranging  my  future 
for  me,  and  it  does  not  occur  to  her  that  I 
dare  object.  That  is  because  she  knows 
I  am  a  coward,  and  despises  me  for  it  —  and 
it  is  what  I  deserve.  If  I  make  the  marriage 
she  chooses,  she  thinks  Mr.  Binnie  will  leave 
me  his  money.  I  am  to  run  after  a  man  who 
does  not  care  for  me,  and  make  myself  at 
tractive,  in  the  hope  that  he  will  condescend 
to  marry  me  because  Mr.  Binnie  may  leave 
me  his  money.  Do  you  wonder  that  it  took 


"MAY  I  GO?"  223 

even  Lady  Theobald  a  long  time  to  say 
that?" 

"Well,"  remarked  Octavia,  "you  won't  do 
it,  I  suppose.  I  wouldn't  worry.  She  wants 
you  to  marry  Mr.  Barold,  I  suppose." 

Lucia  started. 

"  How  did  you  guess  ?  "  she  exclaimed. 

"  Oh  !  I  always  knew  it.  I  didn't  guess." 
And  she  smiled  ever  so  faintly.  "That  is 
one  of  the  reasons  why  she  loathes  me  so," 
she  added. 

Lucia  thought  deeply  for  a  moment:  she 
recognized,  all  at  once,  several  things  she 
had  been  mystified  by  before. 

"  Oh,  it  is  I  It  is  !  "  she  said.  "  And  she 
has  thought  of  it  all  the  time,  when  I  never 
suspected  her." 

Octavia  smiled  a  little  again.  Lucia  sat 
thinking,  her  hands  clasped  tightly. 

"I  am  glad  I  came  here,"  she  said,  at 
length.  "  I  am  angry  now,  and  I  see  things 
more  clearly.  If  she  had  only  thought  of 
it  because  Mr.  Binnie  came,  I  could  have 
forgiven  her  more  easily;  but  she  has  been 
making  coarse  plans  all  the  time,  and  treat 
ing  me  with  contempt.  Octavia,"  she^  added, 


224  A   FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

turning  upon  her,  with  flushing  cheeks  and 
sparkling  eyes,  "I  think  that,  for  the  first 
time  in  my  life,  I  am  in  a  passion,  —  a  real 
passion.  I  think  I  shall  never  be  afraid  of 
her  any  more."  Her  delicate  nostrils  were 
dilated,  she  held  her  head  up,  her  breath 
came  fast.  There  was  a  hint  of  exultation 
in  her  tone.  "Yes,"  she  said,  "I  am  in  a 
passion.  And  I  am  not  afraid  of  her  at  all. 
I  will  go  home  and  tell  her  what  I  think." 

And  it  is  quite  probable  that  she  would 
have  done  so,  but  for  a  trifling  incident 
which  occurred  before  she  reached  her  lady 
ship. 

She  walked  very  fast,  after  she  left  the 
house.  She  wanted  to  reach  Oldclough  be 
fore  one  whit  of  her  anger  cooled  down; 
though,  somehow,  she  felt  quite  sure,  that, 
even  when  her  anger  died  out,  lier  courage 
would  not  take  flight  with  it.  Mr.  Dngald 
Binnie  had  not  proved  to  be  a  very  fascinat 
ing  person.  He  was  an  acrid,  dictatorial 
old  man:  he  contradicted  Lady  Theobald 
flatly  every  five  minutes,  and  bullied  his 
man-servant.  But  it  was  not  against  him 
that  Lucia's  indignation  was  aroused.  She 


"MAY  I  (70?"  225 

felt  that  Lady  Theobald  was  quite  capable 
of  suggesting  to  him  that  Francis  Barold 
would  be  a  good  match  for  her ;  and,  if  she 
had  done  so,  it  was  scarcely  his  fault  if  he 
had  accepted  the  idea.  She  understood  now 
why  she  had  been  allowed  to  visit  Octavia, 
and  why  divers  other  things  had  happened. 
She  had  been  sent  to  walk  with  Francis 
Barold;  he  had  been  almost  reproached  when 
he  had  not  called ;  perhaps  her  ladyship  had 
been  good  enough  to  suggest  to  him  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  further  her  plans.  She  was 
as  capable  of  that  as  of  any  thing  else  which 
wo.uld  assist  her  to  gain  her  point.  The 
girl's  cheeks  grew  hotter  and  hotter,  her  eyes 
brighter,  at  every  step,  because  every  step 
brought  some  new  thought :  her  hands  trem 
bled,  and  her  heart  beat. 

"  I  shall  never  be  afraid  of  her  again,"  she 
said,  as  she  turned  the  corner  into  the  road. 
"  Never  !  never  !  " 

And  at  that  very  moment  a  gentleman 
stepped  out  of  the  wood  at  her  right,  and 
stopped  before  her. 

She  started  back,  with  a  cry. 

"  Mr.  Burmistone  !  "  she  said  :  "  Mr.  Bur- 
mistone ! " 


226  A   FAIE  BABBAEIAN. 

She  wondered  if  he  had  heard  her  last 
words:  she  fancied  he  had.  He  took  hold 
of  her  shaking  little  hand,  and  looked  down 
at  her  excited  face. 

"  I  am  glad  I  waited  for  you,"  he  said,  in 
the  quietest  possible  tone.  "Something  is 
the  matter." 

She  knew  there  would  be  no  use  in  trying 
to  conceal  the  truth,  and  she  was  not  in  the 
mood  to  make  the  effort.  She  scarcely  knew 
herself. 

She  gave  quite  a  fierce  little  laugh. 

"  I  am  angry  !  "  she  said.  "  You  have 
never  seen  me  angry  before.  I  am  on  my 
way  to  my  —  to  Lady  Theobald." 

He  held  her  hand  as  calmly  as  before. 
He  understood  a  great  deal  more  than  she 
could  have  imagined. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  say  to  her  ?  "  he 
asked.  She  laughed  again. 

"  I  am  going  to  ask  her  what  she  means. 
I  am  going  to  tell  her  she  has  made  a  mis 
take.  I  am  going  to  prove  to  her  that  I  am 
not  such  a  coward,  after  all.  I  am  going  to 
tell  her  that  I  dare  disobey  her,  —  that  is 
what  I  am  going  to  say  to  her,"  she  con 
cluded  decisively. 


"MAY  I  GO?"  227 

He  held  her  hand  rather  closer. 

"  Let  us  take  a  stroll  in  the  copse,  and  talk 
it  over,"  he  said.  "  It  is  deliciously  cool 
there." 

"  I  don't  want  to  be  cool,"  she  said.  But 
he  drew  her  gently  with  him  ;  and  a  few  steps 
took  them  into  the  shade  of  the  young  oaks 
and  pines,  and  there  he  paused. 

"  She  has  made  you  very  angry  ?  "  he  said. 

And  then,  almost  before  she  knew  what 
she  was  doing,  she  was  pouring  forth  the 
whole  of  her  story,  even  more  of  it  than 
she  had  told  Octavia.  She  had  not  at  all  in 
tended  to  do  it ;  but  she  did  it,  nevertheless. 

"  I  am  to  marry  Mr.  Francis  Barold,  if 
he  will  take  me,"  she  said,  with  a  bitter  little 
smile,  — "  Mr.  Francis  Barold,  who  is  so 
much  in  love  with  me,  as  you  know.  His 
mother  approves  of  the  match,  and  sent  him 
here  to  make  love  to  me,  which  he  has 
done,  as  you  have  seen.  I  have  no  money 
of  my  own;  but,  if  I  make  a  marriage 'which 
pleases  him,  Dugald  Binnie  will  probably 
leave  me  his  —  which  it  is  thought  will  be 
an  inducement  to  my  cousin,  who  needs  one. 
If  I  marry  him,  or  rather  he  marries  me, 


228  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

Lady  Theobald  thinks  Mr.  Binnie  will  be 
pleased.  It  does  not  even  matter  whether 
Francis  is  pleased  or  not,  and  of  course  I 
am  out  of  the  question  ;  but  it  is  hoped  that 
it  will  please  Mr.  Binnie.  The  two  ladies 
have  talked  it  over,  and  decided  the  matter. 
I  dare  say  they  have  offered  me  to  Francis, 
who  has  very  likely  refused  me,  though  per 
haps  he  may  be  persuaded  to  relent  in  time, 
—  if  I  am  very  humble,  and  he  is  shown  the 
advantage  of  having  Mr.  Binnie's  money 
added  to  his  own,  —  but  I  have  no  doubt  I 
shall  have  to  be  very  humble  indeed.  That 
is  what  I  learned  from  Lady  Theobald  last 
night,  and  it  is  what  I  am  going  to  talk  to 
her  about.  Is  it  enough  to  make  one  angry, 
do  you  think  ?  is  it  enough  ?  " 

He  did  not  tell  her  whether  he  thought  it 
enough,  or  not.  He  looked  at  her  with  steady 
eyes. 

"  Lucia,"  he  said,  "  I  wish  you  would  let 
me  go  and  talk  with  Lady  Theobald." 

"  You  ?  "  she  said  with  a  little  start. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered.  "  Let  me  go  to  her. 
Let  me  tell  her,  that,  instead  of  marrying 
Francis  Barold,  you  will  marry  me.  If  you 


"MAY  I  GO  9"  229 

will  say  yes  to  that,  I  think  I  can  promise 
that  you  need  never  be  afraid  of  her  any 
more." 

The  fierce  color  died  out  of  her  cheeks, 
and  the  tears  rushed  to  her  eyes.  She  raised 
her  face  with  a  pathetic  look. 

"  Oh !  "  she  whispered,  "you  must  be  very 
sorry  for  me.  I  think  you  have  been  sorry 
for  me  from  the  first." 

"I  am  desperately  in  love  with  you,"  he 
answered,  in  his  quietest  way.  "  I  have 
been  desperately  in  love  with  you  from  the 
first.  May  I  go  ?  " 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  incred 
ulously.  Then  she  faltered,  — 

"Yes." 

She  still  looked  up  at  him;  and  then,  in 
spite  of  her  happiness,  or  perhaps  because  of 
it,  she  suddenly  began  to  cry  softly,  and  for 
got  she  had  been  angry  at  all,  as  he  took  her 
into  his  strong,  kind  arms. 


230  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE   GAKDEN-PARTY. 

THE  morning  of  the  garden-party  arose 
bright  and  clear,  and  Slowbridge  awakened 
in  a  great  state  of  excitement.  Miss  Chickie, 
having  worked  until  midnight  that  all  her 
orders  might  be  completed,  was  so  overpow 
ered  by  her  labors  as  to  have  to  take  her  tea 
and  toast  in  bed. 

At  Oldclough  varied  sentiments  prevailed. 
Lady  Theobald's  manner  was  chiefly  distin 
guished  by  an  implacable  rigidity.  She  had 
chosen,  as  an  appropriate  festal  costume,  a 
funereal-black  moire  antique,  enlivened  by 
massive  fringes  and  ornaments  of  jet;  her 
jewelry  being  chains  and  manacles  of  the  lat 
ter,  which  rattled  as  she  moved,  with  a  sound 
somewhat  suggestive  of  bones. 

Mr.  Dugald  Binnie,  who  had  received  an 
invitation,  had  as  yet  amiably  forborne  to  say 
whether  he  would  accept  it,  or  not.  He  had 


THE  GAEDEN-PAETY.  231 

been  out  when  Mr.  Burmistone  called,  and 
had  not  seen  him. 

When  Lady  Theobald  descended  to  break 
fast,  she  found  him  growling  over  his  news 
paper  ;  and  he  glanced  up  at  her  with  a  polite 
scowl. 

"  Going  to  a  funeral  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"I  accompany  my  granddaughter  to  this 
—  this  entertainment,"  her  ladyship  re 
sponded.  "  It  is  scarcely  a  joyous  occasion, 
to  my  mind." 

"No  need  to  dress  yourself  like  that,  if 
it  isn't,"  ejaculated  Mr.  Binnie.  "  Why 
don't  you  stay  at  home,  if  you  don't  want 
to  go?  Man's  all  right,  isn't  he?  Once 
knew  a  man  by  the  name  of  Burmistone, 
myself.  One  of  the  few  decent  fellows  I've 
met.  If  I  were  sure  this  was  the  same  man, 
I'd  go  myself.  When  I  find  a  fellow  who's 
neither  knave  nor  fool,  I  stick  to  him. 
Believe  I'll  send  to  find  out.  Where's 
Lucia?" 

What  his  opinion  of  Lucia  was,  it  was 
difficult  to  discover.  He  had  an  agreeable 
habit  of  staring  at  her  over  the  top  of  his 
paper,  and  over  his  dinner.  The  only  time 


232  .1    FAIR   BAEBAltlAX. 

he  had  made  any  comment  upon  her,  was 
the  first  time  he  saw  her  in  the  dress  she  had 
copied  from  Octavia's. 

"  Nice  gown  that,"  he  blurted  out :  "  didn't 
get  it  here,  I'll  wager." 

"It's  an  old  dress  I  remodelled,"  answered 
Lucia  somewhat  alarmed.  "  I  made  it  my 
self." 

"  Doesn't  look  like  it,"  he  said  gruffly. 

Lucia  had  touched  up  another  dress,  and 
was  very  happy  in  the  prospect  of  wearing  it 
at  the  garden-party. 

"Don't  call  on  grandmamma  until  after 
Wednesday,"  she  had  said  to  Mr.  Burmi- 
stone :  "  perhaps  she  wouldn't  let  me  go. 
She  will  be  very  angry,  I  am  sure." 

"And  you  are  not  afraid?  " 

"  No,"  she  answered  :  "  I  am  not  afraid  at 
all.  I  shall  not  be  afraid  again." 

In  fact,  she  had  perfectly  confounded  her 
ladyship  by  her  demeanor.  She  bore  her 
fiercest  glance  without  quailing  in  the  least, 
or  making  any  effort  to  evade  it :  under  her 
most  scathing  comments  she  was  composed 
and  unmoved.  On  the  first  occasion  of  my 
lady's  referring  to  her  plans  for  her  future. 


*, 

THE   GARDEN-PAETY.  233 

she  received  a  blow  which  fairly  stunned 
her.  The  girl  rose  from  her  chair,  and 
looked  her  straight  in  the  face  unflinchingly, 
and  with  a  suggestion  of  hauteur  not  easy  to 
confront. 

"  I  beg  you  will  not  speak  to  me  of  that 
ao-ain,"  she  said :  "  I  will  not  listen."  And 

o         ~ 

turning  about,  she  walked  out  of  the  room. 

"  This,"  her  ladyship  had  said  in  sepul 
chral  tones,  when  she  recovered  her  breath, 
"  this  is  one  of  the  results  of  Miss  Octavia 
Bassett."  And  nothing  more  had  been  said 
on  the  subject  since. 

No  one  in  Slowbridge  was  in  more  brilliant 
spirits  than  Octavia  herself  on  the  morning 
of  the  fSte.  Before  breakfast  Miss  Belinda 
was  startled  by  the  arrival  of  another  tele 
gram,  which  ran  as  follows  :  — 

"Arrived  to-day,  per  'Russia.'  Be  with  you  to 
morrow  evening.  Friend  with  me. 

"MARTIN  BASSETT." 

On  reading  this  communication,  Miss  Be 
linda  burst  into  floods  of  delighted  tears. 

"  Dear,  dear  Martin,"  she  wept ;  "  to  think 
that  we  should  meet  again  I  Why  didn't  he 


234  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

let  us  know  he  was  on  the  way?  I  should 
have  been  so  anxious  that  I  should  not  have 
slept  at  all." 

"Well,"  remarked  Octavia,  "I  suppose 
that  would  have  been  an  advantage." 

Suddenly  she  approached  Miss  Belinda, 
kissed  her,  and  disappeared  out  of  the  room 
as  if  by  magic,  not  returning  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  looking  rather  soft  and  moist 
and  brilliant  about  the  eyes  when  she  did 
return. 

Octavia  was  a  marked  figure  upon  the 
grounds  at  that  garden-party. 

"  Another  dress,  my  dear,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Burnham.  "  And  what  a  charming  color  she 
has,  I  declare !  She  is  usually  paler.  Per 
haps  we  owe  this  to  Lord  Lansdowne." 

"Her  dress  is  becoming,  at  all  events," 
privately  remarked  Miss  Lydia  Burnham, 
whose  tastes  had  not  been  consulted  about 
her  own. 

"It  is  she  who  is  becoming,"  said  her 
sister :  "  it  is  not  the  dress  so  much,  though 
her  clothes  always  have  a  look,  some  way. 
She's  prettier  than  ever  to-day,  and  is  enjoy 
ing  herself." 


THE  GARDEN-PARTY.  235 

She  was  enjoying  herself.  Mr.  Francis 
Barold  observed  it  rather  gloomily  as  he 
stood  apart.  She  was  enjoying  herself  so 
much,  that  she  did  not  seem  to  notice  that 
he  had  avoided  her,  instead  of  going  up  to 
claim  her  attention.  Half  a  dozen  men  were 
standing  about  her,  and  making  themselves 
agreeable;  and  she  was  apparently  quite 
equal  to  the  emergencies  of  the  occasion. 
The  young  men  from  Broadoaks  had  at  once 
attached  themselves  to  her  train. 

"  I  say,  Barold,"  they  had  said  to  him, 
"  why  didn't  you  tell  us  about  this  ?  Jolly 
good  fellow  you  are,  to  come  mooning  here 
for  a  couple  of  months,  arid  keep  it  all  to 
yourself." 

And  then  had  come  Lord  Lansdowne, 
who,  in  crossing  the  lawn  to  shake  hands 
with  his  host,  had  been  observed  to  keep  his 
eye  fixed  upon  one  particular  point. 

"  Burmistone,"  he  said,  after  having  spo 
ken  his  first  words,  "  who  is  that  tall  girl  in 
white?" 

And  in  ten  minutes  Lady  Theobald,  Mrs. 
Burnham,  Mr.  Barold,  and  divers  others  too 
numerous  to  mention,  saw  him  standing  at 


236  A   FAIE   BARBARIAN. 

Octavia's  side,  evidently  with  no  intention 
of  leaving  it. 

Not  long  after  this  Francis  Barold  found 
his  way  to  Miss  Belinda,  who  was  very  busy 
and  rather  nervous. 

"Your  niece  is  evidently  enjoying  her 
self,"  he  remarked. 

"  Octavia  is  most  happy  to-day,"  answered 
Miss  Belinda.  "  Her  father  will  reach  Slow- 
bridge  this  evening.  She  has  been  looking 
forward  to  his  coming  with  great  anxiety." 

"  Ah  !  "  commented  Barold. 

".Very  few  people  understand  Octavia," 
said  Miss  Belinda.  "I'm  not  sure  that  I 
follow  all  her  moods  myself.  She  is  more 
affectionate  than  people  fancy.  She  —  she 
has  very  pretty  ways.  I  am  very  fond  of 
her.  She  is  not  as  frivolous  as  she  appears 
to  those  who  don't  know  her  well." 

Barold  stood  gnawing  his  mustache,  and 
made  no  reply.  He  was  not  very  comforta 
ble.  He  felt  himself  ill-used  by  Fate,  and 
rather  wished  he  had  returned  to  London 
from  Broadoaks,  instead  of  loitering  in  Slow- 
bridge.  He  had  amused  himself  at  first,  but 
in  time  he  had  been  surprised  to  find  his 


THE  GARDEN-PARTY.  237 

amusement  lose  something  of  its  zest.  He 
glowered  across  the  lawn  at  the  group  under 
a  certain  beech-tree ;  arid,  as  he  did  so,  Octavia 
turned  her  face  a  little  and  saw  him.  She 
stood  waving  her  fan  slowly,  and  smiling  at 
him  in  a  calm  way,  which  reminded  him  very 
much  of  the  time  he  had  first  caught  sight 
of  her  at  Lady  Theobald's  high  tea. 

He  condescended  to  saunter  over  the  grass 
to  where  she  stood.  Once  there,  he  pro 
ceeded  to  make  himself  as  disagreeable  as 
possible,  in  a  silent  and  lofty  way.  He  felt 
it  only  due  to  himself  that  he  should.  He 
did  not  approve  at  all  of  the  manner  in 
which  Lansdowne  kept  by  her. 

"  It's  deucedly  bad  form  on  his  part,"  he 
said  mentally.  "  What  does  he  mean  by 
it?" 

Octavia,  on  the  contrary,  did  not  ask  what 
he  meant  by  it.  She  chose  to  seem  rather 
well  entertained,  and  did  not  notice  that  she 
was  being  frowned  down.  There  was  no 
reason  why  she  should  not  find  Lord  Lans 
downe  entertaining:  he  was  an  agreeable 
young  fellow,  with  an  inexhaustible  fund  of 
good  spirits,  and  no  nonsense  about  him. 


238  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

He  was  fond  of  all  pleasant  novelty,  and 
Octavia  was  a  pleasant  novelty.  He  had 
been  thinking  of  paying  a  visit  to  America ; 
and  he  asked  innumerable  questions  con 
cerning  that  country,  all  of  which  Octavia 
answered. 

"  I  know  half  a  dozen  fellows  who  have 
been  there,"  he  said.  "  And  they  all  en 
joyed  it  tremendously." 

"  If  you  go  to  Nevada,  you  must  visit  the 
mines  at  Bloody  Gulch,"  she  said. 

"  Where  ?  "  he  ejaculated.  "  I  say,  what  a 
name !  Don't  deride  my  youth  and  igno 
rance,  Miss  Bassett." 

"You  can  call  it  L'Argentville,  if  you 
would  rather,"  she  replied. 

"  I  would  rather  try  the  other,  thank  you,". 
he  laughed.  "  It  has  a  more  hilarious  sound. 
Will  they  despise  me  at  Bloody  Gulch,  Miss 
Bassett  ?  I  never  killed  a  man  in  my  life." 

Barold  turned,  and  walked  away,  angry, 
and  more  melancholy  than  he  could  have 
believed. 

"It  is  time  I  went  back  to  London,"  he 
chose  to  put  it.  "  The  place  begins  to  be 
deucedly  dull." 


THE  GARDEN-PARTY.  239 

"  Mr.  Francis  Barold  seems  rather  out  of 
spirits,"  said  Mrs.  Burnham  to  Lady  Theo 
bald.  "  Lord  Lansdowne  interferes  with  his 
pleasure." 

"I  had  not  observed  it,"  answered  her 
ladyship.  "And  it  is  scarcely  likely  that 
Mr.  Francis  Barold  would  permit  his  pleas 
ure  to  be  interfered  with,  even  by  the  son 
of  the  Marquis  of  Lauderdale." 

But  she  glared  at  Barold  as  he  passed, 
and  beckoned  to  him. 

"  Where  is  Lucia  ?  "  she  demanded. 

"  I  saw  her  with  Burmistone  half  an  hour 
ago,  "  he  answered  coldly.  "  Have  you  any 
message  for  my  mother?  I  shall  return  to 
London  to-morrow,  leaving  here  early." 

She  turned  quite  pale.  She  had  not 
counted  upon  this  at  all,  and  it  was  ex 
tremely  inopportune. 

"  What  has  happened  ?  "  she  asked  rigidly. 

He  looked  slightly  surprised. 

"  Nothing  whatever,"  he  replied.  "  I  have 
remained  here  longer  than  I  intended." 

She  began  to  move  the  manacles  on  her 
right  wrist.  He  made  not  the  smallest  profes 
sion  of  reluctance  to  go.  She  said,  at  last,  — 


240  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

"  If  you  will  find  Lucia,  you  will  oblige 
me." 

She  was  almost  uncivil  to  Miss  Pilcher, 
who  chanced  to  join  her  after  he  was  gone. 
She  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of  allow 
ing  her  plans  to  be  frustrated,  and  was  only 
roused  to  fresh  obstinacy  by  encountering 
indifference  on  one  side  and  rebellion  on  the 
other.  She  had  not  brought  Lucia  up  under 
her  own  eye  for  nothing.  She  had  been  dis 
turbed  of  late,  but  by  no  means  considered 
herself  baffled.  With  the  assistance  of  Mr. 
Dugald  Binnie,  she  could  certainly  subdue 
Lucia,  though  Mr.  Dugald  Binnie  had  been 
of  110  great  help  so  far.  She  would  do  her 
duty  unflinchingly.  In  fact,  she  chose  to 
persuade  herself,  that,  if  Lucia  was  brought 
to  a  proper  frame  of  mind,  there  could  be  no 
real  trouble  with  Francis  Barold. 


SOMEBODY  ELSE."  241 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"SOMEBODY   ELSE." 

BUT  Barold  did  not  make  any  very  ardent 
search  for  Lucia.  He  stopped  to  watch  a 
game  of  lawn-tennis,  in  which  Octavia  and 
Lord  Lansdowne  had  joined,  and  finally  for 
got  Lady  Theobald's  errand  altogether. 

For  some  time  Octavia  did  not  see  him. 
She  was  playing  with  great  spirit,  and 
Lord  Lansdowne  was  following  her  delight 
edly. 

Finally  a  chance  of  the  game  bringing 
her  to  him,  she  turned  suddenly,  and  found 
Barold's  eyes  fixed  upon  her. 

"How  long  have  you  been  there?"  she 
asked. 

"  Some  time,"  he  answered.  "  When  you 
are  at  liberty,  I  wish  to  speak  to  you." 

"Do  you?"  she  said. 

She  seemed  a  little  unprepared  for  the 
repressed  energy  of  his  manner,  which  he 


242  A  FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

strove  to  cover  by  a  greater  amount  of  cold 
ness  than  usual. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  after  thinking  a  moment, 
"  the  game  will  soon  be  ended.  I  am  going 
through  the  conservatories  with  Lord  Lans- 
downe  in  course  of  time ;  but  I  dare  say  he 
can  wait." 

She  went  back,  and  finished  her  game, 
apparently  enjoying  it  as  much  as  ever. 
When  it  was  over,  Barold  made  his  way  to 
her. 

He  had  resented  her  remaining  oblivious 
of  his  presence  when  he  stood  near  her,  and 
he  had  resented  her  enjoyment  of  her  sur 
roundings;  and  now,  as  he  led  her  away, 
leaving  Lord  Lansdowne  rather  disconsolate, 
he  resented  the  fact  that  she  did  not  seem 
nervous,  or  at  all  impressed  by  his  silence. 

"  What  do  you  want  to  say  to  me  ?  "  she 
asked.  "  Let  us  go  and  sit  down  in  one  of 
the  arbors.  I  believe  I  am  a  little  tired  — 
not  that  I  mind  it,  though.  I've  been  hav 
ing  a  lovely  time." 

Then  she  began  to  talk  about  Lord  Lans 
downe. 

"I  like   him   ever  so   much,"    she   said. 


"SOMEBODY  ELSE."  243 

"Do you  think  he  will  really  go  to  America ? 
I  wish  he  would ;  but  if  he  does,  I  hope  it 
won't  be  for  a  year  or  so  —  I  mean,  until  we 
go  back  from  Europe.  Still,  it's  rather  un 
certain  when  we  shall  go  back.  Did  I  tell 
you  I  had  persuaded  aunt  Belinda  to  travel 
with  us?  She's  horribly  frightened,  but  I 
mean  to  make  her  go.  She'll  get  over  being 
frightened  after  a  little  while." 

Suddenly  she  turned,  and  looked  at  him. 

"Why  don't  you  say  something?"  she 
demanded.  "  What's  the  matter  ?  " 

"It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  say  any 
thing." 

She  laughed. 

"  Do  you  mean  because  I  am  saying  every 
thing  myself?  Well,  I  suppose  I  am.  I 
am  —  awfully  happy  to-day,  and  can't  help 
talking.  It  seems  to  make  the  time  go." 

Her  face  had  lighted  up  curiously.  There 
was  a  delighted  excitement  in  her  eyes,  puz 
zling  him. 

"Are  you  so  fond  of  your  father  as  all 
that?" 

She  laughed  again,  —  a  clear,  exultant 
laugh. 


244  A   FAIE  BAEBAEIAN. 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  "  of  course  I  am  as 
fond  of  him  as  all  that.  It's  quite  natural, 
isn't  it?" 

"I  haven't  observed  the  same  degree  of 
enthusiasm  in  all  the  young  ladies  of  my 
acquaintance,"  he  returned  dryly. 

He  thought  such  rapture  disproportionate 
to  the  cause,  and  regarded  it  grudgingly. 

They  turned  into  an  arbor;  and  Octavia 
sat  down,  and  leaned  forward  on  the  rustic 
table.  Then  she  turned  her  face  up  to  look 
at  the  vines  covering  the  roof. 

"  It  looks  rather  spidery,  doesn't  it  ?  "  she 
remarked.  "  I  hope  it  isn't ;  don't  you  ?  " 

The  light  fell  bewitchingly  on  her  round 
little  chin  and  white  throat ;  and  a  bar  of 
sunlight  struck  on  her  upturned  eyes,  and 
the  blonde  rings  on  her  forehead. 

"  There  is  nothing  I  hate  more  than  spi 
ders,"  she  said,  with  a  little  shiver,  "  unless," 
seriously,  "it's  caterpillars  —  arid  caterpillars 
I  loathe." 

Then  she  lowered  her  gaze,  and  gave  her 
hat  —  a  large  white  Rubens,  all  soft,  curling 
feathers  and  satin  bows  —  a  charming  tip 
over  her  eyes. 


"SOMEBODY  ELSE."  245 

"The  brim  is  broad,"  she  said.  "If  any 
thing  drops,  I  hope  it  will  drop  on  it,  instead 
of  on  me.  Now,  what  did  you  want  to  say?  " 

He  had  not  sat  down,  but  stood  leaning 
against  the  rustic  wood-work.  He  looked 
pale,  and  was  evidently  trying  to  be  cooler 
than  usual. 

"  I  brought  you  here  to  ask  you  a  ques 
tion." 

"Well,"  she  remarked,  "I  hope  it's  an 
important  one.  You  look  serious  enough." 

"It  is  important,  —  rather,"  he  responded, 
with  a  tone  of  sarcasm.  "  You  will  probably 
go  away  soon  ?  " 

"  That  isn't  exactly  a  question,"  she  com 
mented,  "and  it's  not  as  important  to  you 
as  to  me." 

He  paused  a  moment,  annoyed  because  he 
found  it  difficult  to  go  on  ;  annoyed  because 
she  waited  with  such  undisturbed  serenity. 
But  at  length  he  managed  to  begin  again. 

"I  do  not  think  you  are  expecting  the 
question  I  am  going  to  ask,"  he  said.  "I  — 
do  not  think  I  expected  to  ask  it  myself,  — 
until  to-day.  I  do  not  know  why  —  why  I 
should  ask  it  so  awkwardly,  and  feel  —  at 


246  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

such  a  disadvantage.  I  brought  you  here  to 
ask  you  —  to  marry  me." 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  four  words  before 
all  her  airy  manner  had  taken  flight,  and 
she  had  settled  herself  down  to  listen.  He 
had  noticed  this,  and  had  felt  it  quite  natu 
ral.  When  he  stopped,  she  was  looking 
straight  into  his  face.  Her  eyes  were  singu 
larly  large  and  bright  and  clear. 

"  You  did  not  expect  to  ask  me  to  marry 
you  ?  "  she  said.  "  Why  didn't  you  ?  " 

It  was  not  at  all  what  he  had  expected. 
He  did  not  understand  her  manner  at  all. 

"I  —  must  confess,"  he  said  stiffly,  "that 
I  felt  at  first  that  there  were  —  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  my  doing  so." 

"  What  were  the  obstacles  ?  " 

He  flushed,  and  drew  himself  up. 

"I  have  been  unfortunate  in  my  mode  of 
expressing  myself,"  he  said.  "  I  told  you  I 
was  conscious  of  my  own  awkwardness." 

"  Yes,"  she  said  quietly :  "  you  have  been 
unfortunate.  That  is  a  good  way  of  putting 
it." 

Then  she  let  her  eyes  rest  on  the  table  a 
few  seconds,  and  thought  a  little. 


"SOMEBODY  ELSE."  247 

"  After  all,"  she  said,  "  I  have  the  consola 
tion  of  knowing  that  you  must  have  been 
very  much  in  love  with  me.  If  you  had  not 
been  very  much  in  love  with  me,  you  would 
never  have  asked  me  to  marry  you.  You 
would  have  considered  the  obstacles." 

"I  am  very  much  in  love  with  you,"  he 
said  vehemently,  his  feelings  getting  the 
better  of  his  pride  for  once.  "  However 
badly  I  may  have  expressed  myself,  I  am 
very  much  in  love  with  you.  I  have  been 
wretched  for  days." 

"  Was  it  because  you  felt  obliged  to  ask 
me  to  marry  you  ?  "  she  inquired. 

The  delicate  touch  of  spirit  in  her  tone 
and  words  fired  him  to  fresh  admiration, 
strange  to  say.  It  suggested  to  him  possi 
bilities  he  had  not  suspected  hitherto.  He 
drew  nearer  to  her. 

"Don't  be  too  severe  on  me,"  he  said  — 
quite  humbly,  considering  all  things. 

And  he  stretched  out  his  hand,  as  if  to 
take  hers. 

But  she  drew  it  back,  smiling  ever  so 
faintly. 

"Do  you  think  I   don't   know   what   the 


248  A   FAIR  BAEBAEIAN. 

obstacles  are?"  she  said.  "I  will  tell 
you." 

"  My  affection  was  strong  enough  to  sweep 
them  away,"  he  said,  "or  I  should  not  be 
here." 

She  smiled  slightly  again. 

"  I  know  all  about  them,  as  well  as  you 
do,"  she  said.  "  I  rather  laughed  at  them  at 
first,  but  I  don't  now.  I  suppose  I'm  'im 
pressed  by  their  seriousness,'  as  aunt  Belinda 
says.  I  suppose  they  are  pretty  serious  —  to 
you." 

"  Nothing  would  be  so  serious  to  me  as 
that  you  should  let  them  interfere  with  my 
happiness,"  he  answered,  thrown  back  upon 
himself,  and  bewildered  by  her  logical  man 
ner.  "  Let  us  forget  them.  I  was  a  fool  to 
speak  as  I  did.  Won't  you  answer  my  ques 
tion?" 

She  paused  a  second,  and  then  answered,  — 

"You  didn't  expect  to  ask  me  to  marry 
you,"  she  said.  "And  I  didn't  expect  you 
to"  — 

"  But  now  "  — he  broke  in  impatiently. 

"Now  —  I  wish  you  hadn't  done  it." 

"  You  wish  "  — - 


"  SOMEBODY  ELSE."  249 

"You  don't  want  we,"  she  said.  "You 
want  somebody  meeker,  —  somebody  who 
would  respect  you  very  much,  and  obey  you. 
I'm  not  used  to  obeying  people." 

"Do  you  mean  also  that  you  would  not 
respect  me  ?  he  inquired  bitterly. 

"  Oh,"  she  replied,  "  you  haven't  respected 
me  much ! " 

"Excuse  me" — he  began,  in  his  loftiest 
manner. 

"  You  didn't  respect  me  enough  to  think 
me  worth  marrying,"  she  said.  "I  was  not 
the  kind  of  girl  you  would  have  chosen  of 
your  own  will." 

"  You  are  treating  me  unfairly ! "  he 
cried. 

"  You  were  going  to  give  me  a  great  deal, 
I  suppose  —  looking  at  it  in  your  way,"  she 
went  on ;  "  but,  if  I  wasn't  exactly  what  you 
wanted,  I  had  something  to  give  too.  I'm 
young  enough  to  have  a  good  many  years  to 
live;  and  I  should  have  to  live  them  with 
you,  if  I  married  you.  That's  something, 
you  know." 

He  rose  from  his  seat  pale  with  wrath  and 
wounded  feeling. 


250  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  Does  this  mean  that  you  refuse  me  ?  "  he 
demanded,  "  that  your  answer  is  '  no  '  ?  " 

She  rose,  too  —  not  exultant,  not  confused, 
neither  pale  nor  flushed.  He  had  never 
seen  her  prettier,  more  charming,  or  more 
natural. 

"It  would  have  been  'no,'  even  if  there 
hadn't  been  any  obstacle,"  she  answered. 

"Then,"  he  said,  "I  need  say  no  more. 
I  see  that  I  have  —  humiliated  myself  in 
vain ;  and  it  is  rather  bitter,  I  must  confess." 

"  It  wasn't  my  fault,"  she  remarked. 

He  stepped  back,  with  a  haughty  wave  of 
the  hand,  signifying  that  she  should  pass  out 
of  the  arbor  before  him. 

She  did  so ;  but  just  as  she  reached  the 
entrance,  she  turned,  and  stood  for  a  second, 
framed  in  by  the  swinging  vines  and  their 
blossoms. 

"  There's  another  reason  why  it  should  be 
4  no,'  she  said.  "  I  suppose  I  may  as  well 
tell  you  of  it.  I'm  engaged  to  somebody 
else." 


"JACK."  251 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 


THE  first  person  they  saw,  when  they 
reached  the  lawn,  was  Mr.  Dugald  Binnie, 
who  had  deigned  to  present  himself,  and 
was  talking  to  Mr.  Burmistone,  Lucia,  and 
Miss  Belinda. 

"I'll  go  to  them,"  said  Octavia.  "Aunt 
Belinda  will  wonder  where  I  have  been." 

But,  before  they  reached  the  group,  they 
were  intercepted  by  Lord  Lansdowne ;  and 
Barold  had  the  pleasure  of  surrendering  his 
charge,  and  watching  her,  with  some  rather 
sharp  pangs,  as  she  was  borne  off  to  the 
conservatories. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  Mr.  Barold?" 
exclaimed  Miss  Pilcher.  "Pray  look  at 
him." 

"He  has  been  talking  to  Miss  Octavia 
Basse tt,  in  one  of  the  arbors,"  put  in  Miss 
Lydia  Burnham.  "Emily  and  I  passed 


252  A   FAIR   BARBARIAN. 

them  a  few  minutes  ago,  and  they  were  so 
absorbed  thatrthey  did  not  see  us.  There  is 
no  knowing  what  has  happened." 

"  Lyclia  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Burnham,  in 
stern  reproof  of  such  flippancy. 

But,  the  next  moment,  she  exchanged  a 
glance  with  Miss  Pilcher. 

"  Do  you  think  "  —  she  suggested.  "  Is  it 
possible  "  — 

"It  really  looks  very  like  it,"  said  Miss 
Pilcher;  "though  it  is  scarcely  to  be 
credited.  See  how  pale  and  angry  he 
looks." 

Mrs.  Burnham  glanced  toward  him,  and 
then  a  slight  smile  illuminated  her  counte 
nance. 

"  How  furious,"  she  remarked  cheerfully, 
"  how  furious  Lady  Theobald  will  be  !  " 

Naturally,  it  was  not  very  long  before  the 
attention  of  numerous  other  ladies  was 
directed  to  Mr.  Francis  Barold.  It  was 
observed  that  he  took  no  share  in  the  festivi 
ties,  that  he  did  not  regain  his  natural  air  of 
enviable  indifference  to  his  surroundings,  — 
that  he  did  not  approach  Octavia  Bassett 
until  all  was  over,  and  she  was  on  the  point 


"  JACK."  253 

of  going  home.     What  he  said  to  her  then, 
no  one  heard. 

"  I  am  going  to  London  to-morrow.    Good- 

by." 

"  Good-by,"she  answered,  holding  out  her 
hand  to  him.  Then  she  added  quickly,  in 
an  under-tone,  "You  oughtn't  to  think 
badly  of  me.  You  won't,  after  a  while." 

As  they  drove  homeward,  she  was  rather 
silent,  and  Miss  Belinda  remarked  it. 

"I  am  afraid  you  are  tired,  Octavia,"  she 
said.  "  It  is  a  pity  that  Martin  should  come, 
and  find  you  tired." 

"  Oh  !  I'm  not  tired.  I  was  only  —  think 
ing.  It  has  been  a  queer  day." 

"  A  queer  day,  my  dear !  "  ejaculated  Miss 
Belinda.  "  I  thought  it  a  charming  day." 

"  So  it  has  been,"  said  Octavia,  which  Miss 
Belinda  thought  rather  inconsistent. 

Both  of  them  grew  rather  restless  as  they 
neared  the  house. 

"To  think,"  said  Miss  Belinda,  "of  my 
seeing  poor  Martin  again  !  " 

"Suppose,"  said  Octavia  nervously,  as 
they  drew  up,  "  suppose  they  are  here  — 
already." 


254  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  They  ?  "  exclaimed  Miss  Belinda.  "Who  " 
—  but  she  got  no  farther.  A  cry  burst  from 
Octavia,  —  a  queer,  soft  little  cry. 

"  They  are  here,"  she  said :  "  they  are ! 
Jack— Jack!" 

And  she  was  out  of  the  carriage  ;  and  Miss 
Belinda,  following  her  closely,  was  horrified 
to  see  her  caught  at  once  in  the  embrace  of  a 
tall,  bronzed  young  man,  who,  a  moment 
after,  drew  her  into  the  little  parlor,  and 
shut  the  door. 

Mr.  Martin  Bassett,  who  was  big  and  sun 
burned,  and  prosperous-looking,  stood  in  the 
passage,  smiling  triumphantly. 

"M  — M —  Martin!"  gasped  Miss  Be 
linda.  "  What  —  oh,  what  does  this  mean  ?  " 

Martin  Bassett  led  her  to  a  seat,  and 
smiled  more  triumphantly  still. 

"  Never  mind,  Belinda,"  he  said.  "  Don't 
be  frightened.  It's  Jack  Belasys,  and  he's 
the  finest  fellow  in  the  West.  And  she 
hasn't  seen  him  for.  two  years." 

"Martin,"  Miss  Belinda  fluttered,  "it  is 
not  proper  —  it  really  isn't." 

"  Yes,  it  is,"  answered  Mr.  Bassett ;  "  for 
he's  going  to  marry  her  before  we  go  abroad." 


255 


It  was  an  eventful  day  for  all  parties  con 
cerned.  At  its  close  Lady  Theobald  found 
herself  in  an  utterly  bewildered  and  thun 
derstruck  condition.  And  to  Mr.  Dugald 
Binnie,  more  than  to  any  one  else,  her 
demoralization  was  due.  That  gentleman 
got  into  the  carriage,  in  rather  a  better 
humor  than  usual. 

"  Same  man  I  used  to  know,"  he  remarked. 
"  Glad  to  see  him.  I  knew  him  as  soon  as  I 
set  eyes  on  him." 

"Do  you  allude  to  Mr.  Burmistone?  " 

"  Yes.  Had  a  long  talk  with  him.  He's 
coming  to  see  you  to-morrow.  Told  him  he 
might  come,  myself.  Appears  he's  taken  a 
fancy  to  Lucia.  Wants  to  talk  it  over. 
Suits  me  exactly,  and  suppose  it  suits  her. 
Looks  as  if  it  does.  Glad  she  hasn't  taken 
a  fancy  to  some  haw-haw  fellow,  like  that 
fool  Barold.  Girls  generally  do.  Burmi- 
stone's  worth  ten  of  him." 

Lucia,  who  had  been  looking  steadily  out  of 
the  carriage-window,  turned,  with  an  amazed 
expression.  Lady  Theobald  had  received  a 
shock  which  made  all  her  manacles  rattle. 
She  could  scarcely  support  herself  under  it. 


256  A  FAIR  BARBARIAN. 

"  Do  I  "  —  she  said.  "  Am  I  to  under 
stand  that  Mr.  Francis  Barold  does  not  meet 
with  your  approval  ?  " 

Mr.  Binnie  struck  his  stick  sharply  upon 
the  floor  of  the  carriage. 

"  Yes,  by  George !  "  he  said.  "  Til  have 
nothing  to  do  with  chaps  like  that.  If  she'd 
taken  up  with  him,  she'd  never  have  heard 
from  me  again.  Make  sure  of  that." 

When  they  reached  Oldclough,  her  lady 
ship  followed  Lucia  to  her  room.  She  stood 
before  her,  arranging  the  manacles  on  her 
wrists  nervously. 

"I  begin  to  understand  now,"  she  said. 
"  I  find  I  was  mistaken  in  my  impressions  of 
Mr.  Dugald  Binnie's  tastes  —  and  in  my  im 
pressions  of  you.  You  are  to  marry  Mr. 
Burmistone.  My  rule  is  over.  Permit  me 
to  congratulate  you." 

The  tears  rose  to  Lucia's  eyes. 

"  Grandmamma,"  she  said,  her  voice  soft 
and  broken,  "I  think  I  should  have  been 
more  frank,  if — if  you  had  been  kinder 
sometimes." 

"  I  have  done  my  duty  by  you,"  said  my 
lady. 


"  JACK."  257 

Lucia  looked  at  her  pathetically. 

"  I  have  been  ashamed  to  keep  things  from 
you,"  she  hesitated.  "  And  I  have  often  told 
myself  that  —  that  itvwas  sly  to  do  it — but 
I  could  not  help  it." 

"  I  trust,"  said  my  lady,  "  that  you  will  be 
more  candid  with  Mr.  Burmistone." 

Lucia  blushed  guiltily. 

"I  —  think  I  shall,  grandmamma,"  she 
said. 

It  was  the  Rev.  Alfred  Poppleton  who 
assisted  the  rector  of  St.  James  to  marry 
Jack  Belasys  and  Octavia  Bassett;  and  it 
was  observed  that  he  was  almost  as  pale  as 
his  surplice. 

Slowbridge  had  never  seen  such  a  wed 
ding,  or  such  a  bride  as  Octavia.  It  was 
even  admitted  that  Jack  Belasys  was  a  singu 
larly  handsome  fellow,  and  had  a  dashing, 
adventurous  air,  which  carried  all  before  it. 
There  was  a  rumor  that  he  owned  silver- 
mines  himself,  and  had  even  done  something 
in  diamonds,  in  Brazil,  where  he  had  spent 
the  last  two  years.  At  all  events,  it  was 
ascertained  beyond  doubt,  that,  being  at  last 
a  married  woman,  and  entitled  to  splendors 


258  A   FAIE  BARBARIAN. 

of  the  kind,  Octavia  would  not  lack  them. 
Her  present  to  Lucia,  who  was  one  of  her 
bridesmaids,  dazzled  all  beholders. 

When  she  was  borne  away  by  the  train, 
with  her  father  and  husband,  and  Miss 
Belinda,  whose  bonnet-strings  were  bedewed 
with  tears,  the  Rev.  Alfred  Poppleton  was 
the  last  man  who  shook  hands  with  her.  He 
held  in  his  hand  a  large  bouquet,  which 
Octavia  herself  had  given  him  out  of  her 
abundance.  "Slowbridge  will  miss  you, 
Miss  — Mrs.  Belasys,"  he  faltered.  "I  —  I 
shall  miss  you.  Perhaps  we  —  may  even 
meet  again.  I  have  thought  that,  perhaps, 
I  should  like  to  go  to  America." 

And,  as  the  train  puffed  out  of  the  station 
and  disappeared,  he  stood  motionless  for 
several  seconds;  and  a  large  and  brilliant 
drop  of  moisture  appeared  on  the  calyx  of 
the  lily  which  formed  the  centre-piece  of  his 
bouquet. 


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